Author: Erik Wesner

Erik Wesner is the creator of amishamerica.com, and author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look At Why Amish Businesses Thrive. Erik began visiting Amish communities in 2004 – eventually meeting thousands of Amish families while selling books.

He began writing about the Amish on this website in 2006, and is often cited in national media, including USA Today, The New York Times, and others on a wide range of Amish topics. A native of North Carolina, Erik has visited dozens of Amish communities across the country, and loves spending time with Amish friends and discovering new Amish places.

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English Friend Helps Promote Benefit Dinner For Michigan Amish Family

English Friend Helps Promote Benefit Dinner For Michigan Amish Family

Last year a Michigan Amish family of nine were struck by a car while traveling by buggy. Sadly, the father has died of his injuries. Now the community is having a benefit dinner for the family, and an English friend is promoting it online. Here’s the information via the Facebook post: Our Amish neighbors in Hale are having a benefit dinner for the family of…

Indiana Public School Says Goodbye To 75 Graduating Amish 8th-Graders

Indiana Public School Says Goodbye To 75 Graduating Amish 8th-Graders

This is a neat story via kpcnews.com which demonstrates that not all Amish attend the classic one-room schoolhouses. In the larger settlements in particular, like Holmes County and northern Indiana, local public schools have a significant Amish makeup. This article reports on the graduation day at Westview School Corporation, which is located in the little hamlet of Emma in LaGrange County: EMMA — In a…

Teen Amish Girl Dies In Ohio Crash; Alcohol Likely A Factor

From the Akron Beacon Journal: An Amish horse and buggy driver was killed after a crash with a pickup truck Thursday morning. Edna Keim, a 17-year-old girl from Homerville, died in the crash. According to a news release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the crash happened on state Route 301, north of U.S. Route 224 in Homer Township. The Medina Post is investigating the…

Ohio Sheriff Pulls Over Speeder…Minutes Later, Helps Deliver Amish Baby

Last year, a PA State Deputy saved a 3-year-old Amish girl in a runaway buggy. Here’s another feel-good story – also involving law enforcement, Amish, and a speeding vehicle. Deputy Travis Goodwin of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office made a traffic stop to remember Friday. From Fox8 Cleveland: “There is no such thing as a routine traffic stop, that’s for sure,” Goodwin said with a…

Lovina Eicher On The Road Accident Which Claimed A 4-Year-Old Girl’s Life

Lovina Eicher On The Road Accident Which Claimed A 4-Year-Old Girl’s Life

Last week brought the tragic news of a 4-year-old girl killed crossing the road while walking between events on an Amish wedding day. Amish Kitchen columnist Lovina Eicher has roots in the Adams County, Indiana Amish settlement where this happened, and the family involved are relatives on her husband’s side. In her latest column, Lovina gives more details on the incident. Little Barbara Graber was…

2-State Amish Business Guide (Allegany County, NY & Potter County, PA)

This is an interesting online Amish business guide for several reasons (guide link has been removed at Salamanca Press). First, it is very nicely done in an online “booklet” format. It features about two dozen businesses, of which around 20 appear to be Amish-owned. In addition to the ads, there are photos, info on the Amish and even some writings from Amish residents of the…

Tourists Not Too Worried About Low Holmes County Vaccination Rate

Tourists Not Too Worried About Low Holmes County Vaccination Rate

I recently checked in with the head of a large tourist business in one of the main Amish settlements. He told me that 2020 “was certainly an absolute disaster.” Things are somewhat better this year, but apparently not by a ton. That said, it is only May, and states are still in the process of releasing their citizens from restrictions. So I’ve been wondering about…

Bike or Buggy? Insights From 3 Amish Bicycle Shop Owners

Bike or Buggy? Insights From 3 Amish Bicycle Shop Owners

This was a neat idea for an article. Denise Fedorow of the Goshen News interviewed three Amish bicycle shop owners in the Nappanee, Indiana community to get their insights on what types of bicycles appeal to their Amish customers. Many Amish in this community and others use bicycles as a form of transportation (for more on the Amish bicycles vs. scooters question, see here). The…

4 Reasons Why Amish Are Skipping The Vaccine

4 Reasons Why Amish Are Skipping The Vaccine

Why are Amish opting out of the COVID-19 vaccine? This Cedar Rapids Gazette article about Iowa Amish and the COVID vaccine is one of the better that I’ve seen. We get a deeper look at the Kalona Amish community, in some ways one of the more progressive settlements. Author Brooklyn Draisey speaks with several Amish leaders, including several current bishops, as well as a former…

Amish Farmer Selling His Baseball Card Collection

Amish Farmer Selling His Baseball Card Collection

Here’s one I hadn’t seen before: an Amish farmer in Lancaster County is selling his baseball card collection via online auction. Amish play baseball and softball, and there is certainly interest in the sport in some quarters. Amish have hobbies and pastimes of course, but we tend to hear about ones like hunting. So I’d never heard of adult Amish with baseball card collections. But,…