Amish Life

Buggies In Another Indiana County Will Need Licenses

From Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly: AUBURN — As the Amish community in southern DeKalb County continues to grow, the DeKalb County Commissioners are getting the jump on imposing a license fee for horse-drawn vehicles and horse-drawn trailers. The commissioners approved an ordinance on first reading Aug. 8 after a couple of months of discussion. The ordinance sets a yearly license fee, which goes back…

Amish Mother, 3 Children Lose Lives in Tractor Rollover

Amish Mother, 3 Children Lose Lives in Tractor Rollover

Tragic happening in York County, PA (the area across the Susquehanna which is considered part of the Lancaster County settlement). The York Daily Record gives an account of the accident, which happened Friday morning, and the community’s response thus far: Friday morning, Amos Stoltzfus dropped off some of his wife’s fresh-cut flowers at the Country View Market on Route 74, not far from their home…

Another day in the life of an Amish mother

In her weekly column, Amish mother Lovina Eicher from time to time shares an hour-by-hour look into her daily life. We saw this in both 2018 and 2020. One change I noticed between those two accounts is that Lovina’s wake-up time “improved” from 3 AM to 4 AM. I think that reflects a change in the work schedule of the working men in her household…

Are Amish immune from high gas prices? 5 Reasons why the answer is “No”

Are Amish immune from high gas prices? 5 Reasons why the answer is “No”

Often when people look at the Amish – a horse-and-buggy people, after all – they assume they’re dodging the pain of high gas prices. But is that really the case? First, there was recently a humorous column by Star Beacon writer Shelley Terry “Hubby going Amish due to rising gas prices“, which illustrates this view well. An excerpt: When gas hit $5.09 a gallon, Hubby…

Hello from Lancaster County (3 New Things I Noticed – Video)
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Hello from Lancaster County (3 New Things I Noticed – Video)

I just returned from a week in the Lancaster County Amish community. While there I attended the 2022 Amish conference at Elizabethtown College, and spent a lot of time with Amish friends. I’ll have a post sharing some favorite images from the trip coming soon. I also recorded a short video from inside the buggy of a teenage son of one of my friends. It…

Plain-Friendly “Amish Radio” Initiative Seeks To Save Lives Following Tragedy

Plain-Friendly “Amish Radio” Initiative Seeks To Save Lives Following Tragedy

Two springs ago, there was a particularly tragic story out of Bath County, Kentucky. High waters overcame an Amish buggy, overturning it in a swollen creek. Five children were washed away and lost their lives. Now, local non-Amish efforts are seeking to help get weather alerts to Amish in this community. The answer appears to be an Amish-friendly radio – one that only gives weather…

Gloria Yoder Recounts Day of Husband Daniel’s Passing

One month ago, Amish Cook columnist Gloria Yoder suffered the loss of her husband Daniel in a logging accident. In today’s column, Gloria candidly recounts the events of that day, and Daniel’s eventual passing in the evening. Here’s how it starts: The door swung open, in walked my mother, kindly asking, “Gloria, did you hear that Daniel was in a logging accident? There are two…

Are the Amish hypocrites?

Are the Amish hypocrites?

“The Amish are hypocrites.” So this claim is hardly a new one. It’s something I’ve seen often enough over the years, both in comments here on the website and elsewhere. I just made a video about it, because I started to see it a lot in the YouTube comments on some videos, in particular one I did recently on how Amish keep food cool. I…

Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities (JPAC) Issue #4 Now Available

Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities (JPAC) Issue #4 Now Available

The fourth issue (Volume 2, Issue 2) of the Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities has just been released. This is a free online journal (access previous issues 1, 2, and 3). Journal co-editor Joseph Donnermeyer shares the following on the latest edition of JPAC: The fourth issue (Volume 2, Issue 2) of the Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities was just released. On the front cover…

Gloria Yoder: Where To Send Cards

Gloria Yoder: Where To Send Cards

Amish Cook Editor Kevin Williams guest writes this week’s column following the death last week of Gloria Yoder’s husband Daniel. Here are the first parts of the brief column: Daniel Yoder, 33, passed away on April 4 from injuries sustained in a logging accident. The tragedy leaves Gloria, who pens the weekly Amish Cook column, to raise six children. Gloria’s church community, family, and friends and her…