Each year the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies publishes Amish population estimates on their Amish Studies web site. As of today those are not yet available. However this AP report previews some of the details of the population survey, with input from senior scholar Steven Nolt. Here are 3 takeaways from the article: 1. South America – First–and somewhat surprisingly–there are now two Amish settlements in South…
Amish in the St. Ignatius community in western Montana recently chipped in to support their local ambulance service, holding an auction to raise badly-needed funds. Local Amish have not really used the service, but realize the importance of supporting it. From valleyjournal.net: One might think that because the Amish don’t drive cars that they wanted to help the ambulance service to make sure they can get…
A rare February tornado wreaked havoc Wednesday evening in Lancaster County, destroying an Amish schoolhouse and damaging around 50 area homes. The schoolhouse is expected to be rebuilt within a week. Thankfully, since the storm hit in the evening, no one was in the building. From wgal.com: It happened in Salisbury Township where 30 students spanning from first through eighth grade attend school. The storm…
Rebecca Miller belongs to the large Old Order Amish community in Holmes County, Ohio. She’s previously shared a week’s diary in the life of an Amish girl, as well as two journals from trips to Niagara Falls and Mackinac Island. Amish people, especially younger folks, often contribute to disaster relief projects via Mennonite Disaster Service or other organizations. Many Amish and Mennonite volunteers have helped rebuild in the…
Here’s footage from a home fire which occurred Saturday evening in the Amish community at Oak Grove, Kentucky. Due to the intensity of the blaze, seven fire companies were called in to help, with one injury. The blaze was sparked by a gas motor in a freezer, which ignited a 300-gallon tank of gasoline creating a huge explosion, completely destroying the home and the business,…
On several previous occasions we’ve looked at photos taken in Amish homes, including an Ohio home as well as a farmhouse in New York state. But we haven’t seen a lot of video footage from inside Amish homes. However I recently came across the below video taken in what appears to be a Lancaster County Amish home. In this two-and-a-half minute video, the Amishman who…
Reader Frank shares a few photos from a recent visit to Holmes County, Ohio. No snow in these shots, but lots of nice views. Frank also passes along two anecdotes demonstrating the friendly community feel of the area. If you’ve ever spent time in Holmes County, home to over 30,000 Amish people, you won’t be surprised: While shopping at Hershberger’s Store outside Berlin, an elderly gentleman explained to…
This story at pennlive.com is a couple of weeks old, but since we’ve covered the Amish and exercise before, it’s worth circling back to. Leroy Stoltzfus is a 22-year-old Amish man who did something remarkable–ran a marathon in an impressive 3 hours and 5 minutes–dressed in full Amish garb. I am an amateur runner, and this sounds completely miserable to me. Running long distances is hard…
As you might know, top Amish scholar Donald Kraybill is retiring (here is a short interview we did with him when the news was announced). If you’ve been interested in the Amish for any length of time, odds are you have read one of Don’s many books on the Amish and other Anabaptist peoples, or appreciated his other work in the area of Amish studies, such as in…
In our previous installment of An Amish Girl’s Adventures, Rebecca Miller of Holmes County, Ohio shared her family’s vacation to Niagara Falls. Rebecca is back with the story of a trip with friends to Mackinac Island in northern Michigan. As you’ll learn below, something about Mackinac Island made Rebecca and her friends feel right at home. Mackinac Island Tour – Sept. 26-29, 2007 Wednesday We started…