Author: erik

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Amish and the public

How much do Amish interact with the public?   It’s a broad question, without a straightforward answer.  Two recent stories show Amish crossing boundaries of sorts. Law Enforcement On the whole, Amish are less likely than your average American to call the police.  They have been criticized for this reluctance, particularly when criminal matters are involved.  Amish have cooperated with the law in the recent…

The Amish Beard Attacks

The Amish Beard Attacks

Chances are you’ve heard of the recent attacks on Amish by now.  Members of a small Ohio group have been entering Amish homes and cutting off men’s beards and men’s and women’s hair.  Authorities have gotten involved and now there are serious charges–kidnapping and burglary–against the perpetrators. The group in question is located near the town of Bergholz in Jefferson County (this is a county…

A once-a-year occasion

The picture above was taken at an Amish farm in Hardin County, Ohio (we’ve mentioned this settlement already this summer, see the unusual buggy post). Can you guess what’s happening here? The family only does this once a  year.  Luckily, that was the day I stopped by! UPDATE: if you guessed apple butter, well done! See below in the comments for a bit more background…

How do Amish women put up their hair?

How do Amish women put up their hair?

Amish Workshops has posted a great look at the process Amish women go through to pin up their hair.  The article features over 2 dozen photos illustrating the procedure. Amish women don’t display their hair for Biblically-based reasons.  They also do not cut their hair, pinning it all up underneath a kapp, or prayer covering. When I posted this article on the Amish America Facebook…

Amish soap

Karen Johnson-Weiner shares a photo of homemade Amish soap, the work of a Swartzentruber Amish woman. It’s interesting to see the range of home amenities used by Amish. When it comes to cleaning products, you get families who buy fine hand lotions from places like Wal-Mart to those who still make their own soaps. Here’s a close-up.  If I didn’t know otherwise, I might have…

Name that Amish item

What is this?  I bought it at an Amish variety store in Adams County, Indiana, earlier this summer, for $3. To make things more fun, the first one to guess correctly wins a back issue of the Connection magazine. I have no idea if you’ll find this easy or difficult, but I’ll be checking back in on this post to see if anyone’s hit it–and…

“Aaron Miller” on the beard, cell phone, and Ordnung

An Amish friend, whom we’ll call “Aaron Miller”, recently discussed aspects of Amish society with a college class. Aaron later wrote a follow-up letter to the class, in which he addressed a few issues raised during the discussion.  Aaron has kindly shared the letter, from which we’ll post a few excerpts on the blog.  You may remember Aaron, aka “Anonymous Amish Person” or “Mr. X”,…

Amish Scrapple

Amish Scrapple

The skill of slaughtering animals is one now beyond the capacity of most modern folks, though it was once quite common.  Many Amish still do kill chickens and other farm animals for food. A running joke among Amish farmers has something to do with a visitor from the city thinking milk “comes” from a grocery store.  Wish I could remember the punchline but the point…

Wheels of steel (and destruction), and an Amish burglary video

Most Amish and some Mennonite farmers use steel wheels on their tractors, an aspect of church rules that encourages slower and less driving.  It’s hard to get a fast (or at least a comfortable) ride when you feel every pebble in the road thanks to the unforgiving metal.  Thus steel wheels deter unnecessary trips (in contrast, in a few Amish communities, rubber-tired tractors have meant…

Packing celluloid: Amishman uses camera tech to (hopefully) catch a thief

An Amish businessman in Lancaster County has turned the camera in the other direction in an attempt to catch a thief. Apparently the culprit in question, likely assuming the Amish-owned businesses would be lightly protected, was brazen enough to break into the same four shops multiple times over a period of a few months. One unlucky store was robbed on six separate occasions. Knowing that…