I just cracked into my mail (I often get my US mail at my parents’ address, and collect it when I visit), and found a Christmas card from ‘Jake’ and ‘Suvilla’, Amish friends in Ohio. Jake included a two-page letter to get me up to date with what’s been going on since my last visit. In true Amish-letter fashion, he starts out with a fairly…
I quite liked this story on a Sugarcreek, Ohio man who was raised Amish and is now planning to attend medical school at Ohio State (no longer online). Obviously, it’s not typical for someone who only went through eight grades to have such high educational goals. In fact, Andy Yoder completed his GED and is now finishing his final semester at Goshen College in Indiana….
Some Amish dairymen still use the old-style milk containers to transport their milk, as seen in this photo taken in Swartzentruber Amish country in Ohio. Lancaster Amish are allowed to use mechanical milkers, which has helped to allow that particular community to retain a relatively high percentage of functioning dairies. Amish barns will have a special tank to store the milk, and to cool and…
A little piece of an interview with an Ohio Old Order Amish friend, ‘Leon’, speaking back in September of sports, cars and other matters adolescent: ‘When we first started we were 18-and-under’ Leon explains, talking about his softball team, ‘and we won the state of Ohio tournament, went down to Texas, and won the world tournament–Amish guys, Amish boys, 18-and-under.’ ‘I think I was 22…
Across America in places where the Amish have set up shop, local businesses and government authorities have had to adapt some practices to accommodate the preferred Amish transportation. Traffic Jam off County Road 77 in Holmes County, Ohio Sometimes an Amish group showing up in an area can lead to disputes with locals over horse mess or hoof damage on roads. The smarter businesses, or…
photo: Bill Coleman Ah, the rural life. Birds, bees, valleys, trees, and…funky farm smells. City folk who idealize the pastoral existence often forget to take into account the odorific nature of country livin’. The clear majority of farms operated by the Amish are of the less-stinky dairy variety. Hog farms are much less commonly run by Amish, but you do see them from time to…
One of my favorite pieces on the Amish is a Donald Kraybill examination of the four main affiliations of Holmes County, Ohio. This work does a great job of describing the cultural variety found within the Amish world. Reading it one is reminded of the difficulty of making broad generalizations about Amish society. The Amish in Holmes County follow a conservative-to-progressive arc that starts with…
Driving the backroads of Amish America you find yourself passing the horse-and-buggy in miniature, with little Amish pilots egging on their diminutive yet sturdy ponies, whipping across front yards or up the shoulder and down to the neighbor’s, perhaps to collect a missing ingredient for the casserole mom is working on back at home. Photo: Randall Persing The pony cart serves a useful function in…
Produce sales have become an important way for many Amish to earn a living. Some Amish have their own stands which they often operate at the end of the lane. Even more sell their produce to buyers at local produce auctions. This has become especially popular in recent years among the Amish of eastern Lagrange County, Indiana, who bring their produce to a specially-built auction…
The eight-grades-and-out system has been criticized by some. One Amish teacher’s opinion, (taken from The Amish School, co-authored by Amish schoolteacher Sara E. Fisher and European Mennonite transplant Rachel K. Stahl): But do Amish schools prepare their children for life? Amish schools prepare their children to be God-fearing, hardworking, and self-supporting persons. They do not, however, teach them to be self-seeking, ambitious, and competitive. Amish…