With the races for the presidential nominations heating up, seems you can’t turn around without hearing what so-and-so said about you-know-who, who’s waffling, flip-flopping or what-not. Just 12 more months of it to go. So what do the Amish think about the political process? Well I can’t speak for all of them, but it seems to me that there are some closet political junkies among…
Being a well-known non-resistant group, people sometimes wonder if the Amish use guns for hunting. John at the Spokesrider has posted a few questions on this topic, which I’ve been meaning to get to for a while (thanks John!). I remember while in the Arthur, Illinois settlement a few years ago being surprised to learn that the Amish do use guns for hunting. Since that…
It looks like Anita and Jakub, the ‘Amish in Poland’, are back in the news again. The Pennsylvania/Indiana-transplant couple, who settled in a village not far from Warsaw 14 years ago, appeared on the national talk show ‘Rozmowy w Toku’ (roughly, ‘Conversations in Progress’) tonight. Kind of an odd place to find an Amish family, but again, we’re not sure exactly what their particular brand…
The Amish commitment to restricting schooling to eight grades is well-known. But what happens with those individuals who are driven to go further? In Amish Society, John Hostetler examines the issue. ‘Before the Amish operated their own schools, more Amish youths were exposed to the possibilities of higher education and to teachers who inspired them to continue their education than is the case today. To…
As you venture further south in the Holmes County Amish settlement, towards the Coshocton County line, two things happen. The countryside gets more rugged, and the churches more conservative. The large Amish settlements–Holmes County, Lancaster County, northern Indiana–have their progressive and conservative factions. In Holmes County, the area past Charm and Farmerstown, down around Becks Mills and New Bedford and on into Coshocton County is…
I love hearing the Amish sing (and trying to hang with them, for that matter). There is something very moving about sitting in the midst of 150 upraised voices, all giving glory to the Maker. Those accustomed to musical accompaniment may find the drawn-out a capella hymnals tedious, but for me, they are eerily beautiful and uplifting. Sunday church gathering in Geauga County, Ohio Kraybill…
From Amish Society, Fourth Edition: ‘…there are many myths about Amish foods. There is the legend of “seven sweets and seven sours” on Amish tables. The only place I have ever eaten seven sweets and sours is in a tourist hotel. The tourist industry has done well in capitalizing on myths, judging by the number of restaurants that cater to “Amish” foods. Advertised items such…
Kudos to Matthew for the link to a story about a Geauga County, Ohio man who joined the Amish in 2000. David Rapinz adopted the lifestyle around a decade ago. He met an Amish woman, Martha, who ‘took a chance on him before his baptism’, and later married her. Rapinz found beards, horses, and the Pennsylvania Dutch language all a bit unwieldy at first, but…
‘In 1847, nine families, all Bylers, moved to Lawrence, PA, they were: Solomon, Christian, Yost, Daniel, Noah, John, Reuben, Rudy, and Eli, and were among the first Amish in that section. In year 1880 bishop Crist (Christian) Byler walked from Lawrence County to the Valley. He traveled a distance of 250 miles in 4 days at the age of 68. He also made the trip…
Today marks a year since the Nickel Mines School shooting. Ten girls were shot. Five perished. Five lived on. A community was rocked by an unthinkable loss. The world watched and learned a rare lesson in forgiveness and grace. ‘The happening’ is the name local Amish attached to the event, and The Happening is author Harvey Yoder’s attempt to reconstruct, order, and make sense of…