Amish Life

It has been three months since the devastating February 3rd crash in Jay County, Indiana that killed four members of the local Amish community. The crash drew national attention to the question of “chameleon carriers” in the shipping industry. Since the tragedy, there have been several significant developments — including that the semi driver has been formally charged, and the van driver who survived has…

A three-year-old Amish boy was seriously injured yesterday afternoon after being run over by a horse-drawn planter on a farm in Centre County, Pennsylvania, as reported by WTAJ. Pennsylvania State Police say the accident happened Monday on Brush Valley Road in Rebersburg. The Daily Voice notes that emergency crews treated the child at the scene before he was airlifted to Geisinger Hospital in Danville, where…

We’re back with Part 3, the final part of our conversation with Don Burke and Laura Graber on Amish horse-drawn transport in Jamesport, Missouri. In Part 1, Don and Laura covered the smallest and largest vehicles on the road — from pony carts to draft horse wagons. In Part 2, they moved to the three most common buggy types: the standard enclosed buggy, the surrey,…

Author and Amish taxi driver Haley Straw is back to share a new story – of an Amish neighbor who remembered a kindness – and made sure to pay it back, in his own way.  The gravel crunched under my tires as I pulled into the pasture, the old ticket booth still sitting where it had been for two years—waiting. I had big plans for…

A young Amish man in the Seymour, Missouri community was tragically killed Sunday in a frankly head-scratching set of circumstances. He was struck while riding his bicycle in the very early hours of the morning – reportedly without lights and traveling on a highway in the middle of the passing lane. From the report at the Webster County Citizen: A 25-year-old man was killed early…

We’re back with Part 2 of 3 of our conversation with Don Burke and Laura Graber on Amish horse-drawn transport in Jamesport, Missouri. In Part 1, Don and Laura covered the smallest and largest vehicles on the road — from pony carts to draft horse wagons and the church wagon. Here in Part 2, they get to the vehicles most people picture when they think…

We have more details this week following Sunday’s deadly explosion and fire at an Amish home in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, which killed mother Sarah Stoltzfus, 34, and her six children, aged 2 to 11. We’ve also got information at bottom on how to help. Amish community member David Stoltzfus is the husband and father. It’s not really thinkable to place yourself in the shoes of…

A devastating explosion and fire has taken the lives of seven people in a Clinton County, Pennsylvania Amish community – six of them young children. This is the third explosion at an Amish home or school we’ve covered here in the past month. And if bad news comes in threes, this is by far the worst of the bunch. Like the others, this incident also…

In today’s post – part 1 of 3 – Don Burke and Laura Graber take us into the world of Amish horse-drawn transport. Together they look at photos Don has taken over the years in the Jamesport, Missouri Amish community, showing various horse-powered vehicles used by the Amish. Laura, who grew up Amish (and recently shared how she managed eight grades at once as an…

Despite Amish efforts to aid firefighters in extinguishing the blaze, a variety store in the Canton, Missouri Amish settlement burned to the ground yesterday evening. As reported by Michele McCormack in Muddy River News: LEWIS Co., Mo. — Just after 5 p.m. Thursday, a fire erupted at the Amish Variety Store along Highway 81 just north of Canton, Mo. “This is a bad time of…