This photo comes from Paoli, Indiana. The photographer took it in 2009. He writes that “I passed these two, three times in two hours and they never had a customer” and that “Even the Amish are having a hard time making a living.” This would have been during the “Great Recession,” so that adds some context to those comments. Paoli is in southern Indiana. In…
On a day we give thanks, here is a Thanksgiving song from an Amish school. This was filmed by Phil Sarlo in 2019, part of a program in a school in the Holmes County, Ohio community. The song is called “And Father We Thank You”, and it was written by a local Amish man. Phil explains the song: This is a congregational song with amazing…
Each of these three videos features Amish either on the way to church, or heading home afterwards. But which communities were they filmed in? There are clues in each video which point to the answers. Number 3 is the toughest. Video #1 Video #2 Video #3
We learned last week that Amish Cook Gloria Yoder was in a vehicle accident described as “serious”. She re-emerges this week with a column on what happened. Gloria was in a van with other ladies from her church on a thrift shopping trip when this happened: Moments later, the driver had my full attention as she verbalized an anxious, “Ohhh!!” I took it all in…
Here’s a video from Daniel Stoltzfus, of his wife Lydia discussing and sharing some of her scrap quilts. They are not in an Old Order Amish church, but grew up in one. I always love hearing this accent. Daniel and Lydia are parents to Lillian Stoltzfus, who passed away this summer at age 46. You can see Lillian in this video as well. At the…
Gallia County is way down in southeastern Ohio on the West Virginia border. I visited back in 2013 – it’s well off the beaten track, but a pleasant place by my impression, with some beautiful hilly country. There are two Amish settlements in this county, one of five church districts and the other of two. A writer named Jason Williams did something rather unusual: he…
Via WHAM: (WHAM) – New York State Police are asking for help to find a man suspected of trying to lure children off of an Amish buggy in Seneca County. Investigators said they were contacted after a man driving down Dublin Road in Junius approached a buggy that was carrying several children. The man reportedly tried to lure the children into his car by offering…
A little Amish girl is safe thanks to the quick response of a Pennsylvania state trooper. Via WTAE: MARIENVILLE, Pa. — A state police officer jumped into action to save a toddler in a runaway buggy. A 3-year-old Amish girl was alone in a buggy in Marienville, Forest County when the horse was spooked. The horse took off at full gallop and the buggy almost…
Meet “Amish Woman“. She’s a mom of 12 and a recent settler in a young Missouri community. A reporter with a local paper spoke with her and managed to learn a good bit about her life and church. She actually shares a lot more detail than I’d expect from this sort of “our new neighbors the Amish” report. Not the actual “Amish Woman” Amish people…
This obituary tells of an Amishman named Jonas A. Nisley who passed away late last month in Ohio. Jonas had 310 living descendants. If you add his step-descendants, you get an additional 70 individuals, for a total of 380 souls. Here’s the tally of his family, in addition to his twelve children: 96 grandchildren; 11 step-grandchildren; 201 great-grandchildren; 57 step-great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and two step-great-great-grandchildren….