Signs for Mattie’s Place are one of the first things cluing you in as you approach Burke’s Garden, Virginia. For about eight years now, this picturesque valley has been the site of one of the more uniquely-located Amish settlements in North America. Photo by zeesstoff/flickr “Mattie” is Mattie Schlabach. She runs one of the handful of retail businesses in the valley, a popular general store…
One of the more memorable experiences of my Holmes County visit was an early-morning stop at Indian Trail Harness Shop. Rich Stevick and I were out for a day of visiting. This was our first stop of the day, and a random one (sometimes those are the best). We noticed the place traveling up from Walnut Creek to an Amish acquaintance of Rich’s in Wayne…
Amish Acres, in the Nappanee, Indiana community, is one of the best-known Amish tourist destinations, so this news surprised me. The owners are heading for retirement after 50+ years running the business. Amish Acres will shut down this year on New Year’s Eve. There are currently no set plans for it to be taken over. Image: WNDU The attraction features an historic farm which can…
Pioneer Equipment is a longstanding Amish manufacturer which makes horse-drawn equipment, wagons and other vehicles, and related implements. The company got its start in the mid-1970s when Wayne Wengerd and his father Henry tested out a plow prototype on a back field of their land, a response to the growing lack of horse-drawn equipment available to Plain farmers. Amish people had for years used the…
We once had a monthly Amish auction update thanks to the hard work of one helpful reader, but there are too many of them for me to keep up with on my own. However, from time to time I like to promote upcoming auction events, especially ones you readers keep me posted on. Bob has kindly passed along the following notice of an upcoming auction…
A month ago we looked at the first Amish settlement in Canada – that of Milverton, Ontario. In the post I referenced a quote from Fred Lichti, a Mennonite pastor who lives in nearby Elmira. Fred had this to say in a talk on the community: These Amish in the Milverton area have continued to worship in homes on Sunday mornings. They had little growth…
Sometimes you just know a place is “Amish” at first sight. That was the case as we drove by and spotted Pineview Bulk Food & Deli, just a couple of miles outside the quaint town of Farmville, Virginia. I had a couple of addresses of Amish places in the community, but found my phone signal was so weak that I couldn’t get Google Maps to…
Ever heard of Lehman’s? If you’ve been to the Holmes County Amish settlement, chances are you may have heard the place mentioned or seen it advertised. I have visited two or three times in the past. The store, technically located in the Amish area of Wayne County, has a direct connection with the Amish, dating back to its founding. It’s a really nice store, though it…
So after I visited Charlotte County, Virginia in April, I wrote about a local Amish variety stand. In that post I mentioned the following, about a different place: As I finished up my purchase, the girl directed me to a dry goods store not too far away. After she gave me directions explaining that it was down a long lane, and I was confident I had…
Articles on Amish auctions are fairly common this time of year. I found this one on the Clearview School Quilt & Consignment Auction (Green County, WI) more interesting than most. Here are 3 things from this auction that jumped out at me: 1. Food Out Of An Amish School Window – Food is not the main purpose of an Amish auction, but it is a…