This circular hanger comes in handy when you need to dry small items like socks, underwear, towels, caps, gloves and so on. They’re often seen around Amish homes. This photo was taken in an Amish shop in Adams County, Indiana.
Reader Michele purchased an Amish home and converted it to “English”, a process which took about half a year to begin. She had this to say about “living Amish” in the meantime: I don’t know why they are called “simple”…we lived just like Amish for 6 months before our contractor could start our construction. There isn’t one thing “simple” about being Amish. It’s a lot…
A reader in Indiana shares: The fences around here are used as a “lost and found.” I have seen halters, lead ropes, buggy wheel rubbers and the most common item — horseshoes hanging from the fences lines in the Elkhart – LaGrange community. Perishable items like clothes, expensive items like batteries, or small items like bike lights are usually picked up and then listed in…
While in Belle Center, Ohio a few months back, I had dinner with Mark Curtis and a young couple in his community. One of my favorite moments came after Mark said something in Pennsylvania German which seemed to baffle the three other “native Amish” at the table. The man of the house, grappling with the fact that no one could put a finger on the…
You might remember a previous post on July 4th buggy races in the Elkhart-Lagrange Amish settlement. As one reader shares Topeka is not the only spot in northern Indiana holding an annual buggy race: Shipshewana has a celebration called Mayfest each year. Mayfest includes several different events one of which is a buggy race. The buggy race involves teams of 4 individuals. Two team members ride…
This ice kiosk is located just south of Shipshewana, Indiana. The person who shares it explains that “it’s fully automated, takes bills and dispenses ice in bags or bulk.” Though some Amish use ice houses, Amish in this northern Indiana community permit home refrigerators and freezers such as those made by companies like Crystal Cold of Arcola, Illinois, or Shipshewana-area E-Z Freeze. Update: Not all Amish…
Mark Curtis let me take a few photos of his two-seater buggy while in Ohio last month. We took this to supper on the night I arrived. Very chilly that evening, so the extra-thick blanket you see below came in handy. I don’t know how many people you could fit in one this size (brings to mind the stunts with clowns cramming into a VW…
Taken in Wayne County, Ohio. Many Amish hire “taxis”; some, when available, ride buses or trains. There is, of course, a third transport option for Amish: they feed you, you drive them. I have been participating in this for some time now. But I only recently learned the (un)official name of this Amish-English program: “Meals for Wheels”. This photo reminds me of waiting on a…
Here’s a photo of the light over the kitchen table in an Amish home (taken in Mark Curtis’ Ohio home): Some Amish homes have propane fixtures built-in. You’ll find them in nearly every room of the house, just as you’d find electric fixtures in an English home. In other houses you may see hooks in the ceiling from which portable lights can be hung. There…
Thoughts, articles, links following last week’s Ohio visit: My new favorite soup? Cheeseburger. To the extent that you can call it soup. So thick it’s really a stew. Or let’s cut to the chase, this is basically a liquefied cheeseburger. Had a rib-sticking bowl last week at my Amish hosts’ table. By the way, is this an “Amish soup”? What makes something an “Amish soup”…