Randy Evans writes about the passing of Titus Wagler, of Bloomfield, Iowa. Titus was brother to Ira Wagler, and son to David Wagler, both well-known writers with Amish roots. From Randy’s recent column “Never put off what you might regret”: This lesson arrived the week before Christmas when I spotted a small obituary in the Bloomfield Democrat. Seven succinct paragraphs informed readers of the death…
We are about to turn the page on another year. How time flies. As we always do this time of year, a look back at some favorite posts from the past 365 days. Some of these posts were highly-viewed. Others generated good discussion and responses from you. They’re not all necessarily about happy topics (for example, the Rebekah Byler case, which is due to finally…
Here’s one for your New Year. Following the Amish Country Music Video post, some of you brought back to my attention videos by the Brandenberger family of northern Indiana. I had come across these some years ago but forgotten about them. I think at the time I wasn’t 100% sure if this was an Amish family – or more an “Amish-esque” one (eg, keeping Amish cultural…
Jim Halverson has checked in with another visit to Amish in Clare County, Michigan. This visit took place a few days before Christmas. There are two Amish communities in the county, one much larger than the other, and a third partially in the county. In addition to the snow-covered landscape you can see Jim also encountered some fresh snow on his visit. Like in this…
We’ve got a winner in the Goot Essa Cheese Assortment Giveaway. Before I share that, I just want to say a big thank you from both me and John, for all the wonderful comments that you left about the cheese, cheese cave post, and this site/email newsletter. We got about 200 comments on that post, and I tried to respond to as many as I…
A sad story out of northwest PA. An 11-year-old Amish boy was lethally shot on Saturday while hunting for chipmunks. From the Erie Times-News: MEADVILLE — Three young members of a Crawford County Amish community were hunting chipmunks over the weekend when a shot fired from a .22-caliber rifle struck an 11-year-old boy in the head, causing his death, according to the Pennsylvania State Police….
It’s wild mushroom season and one Amish family learned the hard way that eating the wrong mushroom can have consequences. This happened last week in Peach Bottom Township in York County, PA. From CBS 21 News: YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — Eleven people, including children, were hospitalized Friday night after eating wild mushrooms in Peach Bottom Township, according to Delta-Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company. Emergency dispatchers received…
A reader in central Minnesota shares some photos of an Amish community phone. In many Amish settlements, families share a common phone. So that aspect is not uncommon. But there’s one thing about this phone setup that I’ve never seen before. But before we take a look, it’s worth mentioning that Amish use the telephone in many different ways. Here are three options (though these…
Marlene Lehman and I sat down this week (virtually, that is) for a talk about a wide range of topics. Here is the first part of it. In this 22-minute vid, we discuss Amish artists, signs of autumn in her Shipshewana-area Amish community, fall craft shows & festivals, “male” and “female” jobs on the farm, and more. Amish & Mennonite Autumn Festivals If you’re…
Remember the story of a New York State trooper who saved an Amish girl in a runaway buggy? Last month, the NY State Police also released video of the incident, which I filed away, and, frankly, forgot to share with you 🙂 So I’ve got that for you today. To recall what happened, as reported in the Sun Community News: On May 16, Trooper James…