When you read or watch something about the Amish, you might be told that they live separately from the world. It may be further implied or stated that the Amish are a self-sufficient people. Likewise, some seem to assume Amish wake to days full of churning butter, cobbling shoes, and forging metal goods. Seeing an Amish person filling a cart in Wal-Mart can send these folks into shock….
“Amish-founded bank” may be a better way to describe the proposal to create a new bank in eastern Lancaster County. Lancaster New Era/Intelligencer Journal reports that operations at Bank of Bird-in-Hand could begin “in the next few months”. The heavily-Amish area is apparently underserved, and the investors see an opportunity there. The article reports that a “substantial” number of the bank’s 18 investors are Amish. If you…
Last month when commenting on a favorite Amish restaurant, reader Cherie wondered: A couple of decades ago, Sugarcreek was the major shopping and dining area in Amish Country. Not so much anymore. The Amish tour train no longer operates. The ice cream shop is no more. I don’t understand why Sugarcreek is losing favor with tourists when it is so close to I-77. Perhaps someone…
Tuesday thoughts and links, starting with the upcoming Amish Mafia (reality? fiction?) show: “Amish mafiosi” keeping code of silence? The much-discussed “Amish Mafia” premieres tomorrow, but the “sneak peek” is on tonight. Some reporters have been asking Amish experts what they think of the idea of an Amish mafia. Donald Kraybill calls it fiction, and David Weaver-Zercher says he first thought it was a parody sketch…
At any given moment there is an auction going on or about to happen somewhere in Amish America. Amish auctions are social events, fundraisers, and a chance to buy goods at a decent price–and often all three rolled into one. Amish auctions are plugged in various ways–in local publications, Amish newspapers, flyers, word-of-mouth. If you’ve ever been to an Amish auction, you know the festive…
A reader shares the following thoughts on his friend Ada, an Amish quiltmaker. Per request I have changed people/place names and one minor detail. I liked this: It never ceases to amaze me at the openly honest and frank relationship I have with my friend Ada. She is the daughter of my first real friend, her father Reuben who passed away a few years ago….
On Friday we had a look at a West Tennessee Amish community, including some signs of Amish businesses in the settlement. Today Brenda shares a little bit about one of those businesses, a local Amish doll maker: My Amish friend, Kathy, asked me to help her come up with an idea to make some extra money, which was needed to help her husband, Mahlon, pay…
I’ve been hearing about Cruise Night at the Markets at Shrewsbury for years now. I finally got to attend on this recent PA trip. First, a word about the venue. The Markets at Shrewsbury is one of the nicer and more extensive Pennsylvania Dutch markets I’ve visited. I’d say the vendor breakdown is majority Amish, with a number of English stands as well. Most of…
There’s been a good bit of media this week on the use of the Amish name to sell things. If you recall we’ve visited this question on a number of occasions, most recently in “Is it wrong to sell using the Amish name?” One story in the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette gives us an example of the potency of the Amish tag: In 2010, Unker’s, a homeopathic pain…
As promised, more photos today from an auction in the Bowling Green, Missouri Amish settlement. These were taken in May of last year, by Beth Russo. Bowling Green is the oldest Amish enclave in Missouri, dating to 1947. Quilts of course are a staple of Amish auctions. I quite like this design. Lining up for grub. And something for the sweet tooth. Beth says it…