Very sad story from central PA, via the Altoona Mirror: Three members of an Amish family died in a farming accident Wednesday morning. Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers said Andrew Beiler, 47, and his two sons ages 14 and 19 died from asphyxiation after they were trapped inside a silo. The buildup in gases inside the silo caused their deaths, which have been ruled accidental….
Good news for one of the country’s most widely-covered Amish stores, in the little Amish community at Unity, Maine. Back in January, the Amish Community Market & Bakery burned down in a rapidly-moving fire which likely started in a stove or chimney. Reflecting its popularity, in the aftermath of the fire owner Caleb Stoll received many donations and offers to help from non-Amish people who…
“Why are the Amish using plastic packaging? I am so disappointed.” That is a comment someone left on the recent video on the Amish popcorn shop. Lot of plastic packaging in that shop, like in any Amish-owned store that sells food (or other products for that matter). I find this expression of disapproval interesting for a few reasons. I think it reveals a few…
This is a neat story from earlier in the summer I didn’t get around to posting. An Amish couple in Somerset County, PA, agreed to be interviewed and photographed for a story on purple martins. These are the birds every Amish farmer wants to have around. They eat pesky insects, lots of them, and are valued for that. Purple martin houses are common on Amish…
In a new column by Amish Cook columnist Gloria Yoder, she recalls some painful “firsts” she has lately gone through without her husband Daniel, who died tragically in a logging accident in April. I found this column particularly moving…for anyone who has lost a close loved one you’ll probably recognize the sentiment here. An excerpt: Those who have bid farewell to life on earth with…
Some Amish have a neat thing they do when they need to move a structure like a pole barn. They marshall the community’s arms and legs and, deploying a bit of sweat and maybe a few tears, they simply pick up the structure in unison and carry it to wherever it needs to be. We’ve seen this in video versions on several occasions. Now, columnist…
The Post Bulletin has a story on a man named Eddie Swartzentruber, who has been providing the perspective of someone who left a strict Swartzentruber Amish community. He’s using social media to share his former life and answer questions about the Amish on the TikTok platform. I find the article of interest in that it does give a look at Amish life from one person’s…
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…
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…
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…