Once, an Amish acquaintance with an interest in numbers showed me a few calculations. He had worked out the theoretical Amish population far into the future, using the assumption that it doubles every 20 years. The numbers get big quickly. Total Amish population (currently 250,000) hits a million sometime in the 2050s, and rockets from there. A recent academic study (on the spread of a…
Thanks to Mary for sharing the above photo of County Road 77 in Holmes County, Ohio. You might recall CR-77 mentioned in the comments section of the Amish buggy safety post of a couple weeks ago. Hurst and McConnell remind us that CR-77 is known locally as the “Amish roller coaster”, for its series of rolling hills. You can kind of get a sense of that…
Florida Plain newspaper The Pinecraft Pauper gears up for season #2 The Pinecraft Pauper is a community newspaper of the Pinecraft neighborhood of Sarasota, Florida, home to a small but sturdy collection of Amish and Mennonites. The Pauper was founded by local writer Daniel Fisher, and features news, human interest stories, puzzles, cartoons, tips (“Make your own carryon luggage for pennies, by taping a cardboard…
A grab-bag of thoughts and stories for the weekend. Enjoy! Rhymemaster B “Full of action, traction and a lot of satisfaction.” So replied Amishman “Rhymie Aaron” when asked how he was feeling. “Rhymie Aaron” was the nickname of Aaron Beiler, who lived most his life in Lancaster County before passing away in 1964. I recently came across an article about him dating to last year. Sounds…
Why do people leave the Amish? Charles Hurst and David McConnell identify two main reasons in An Amish Paradox, their study of the Amish in Holmes County, Ohio. According to the authors, these are “the desire for fewer lifestyle restrictions”, and “the desire for a more intense religious experience.” Ex-Amish have created a number of venues which provide support to former members. The Former Amish…
Reader Brett shares some photos of Amish in Western Kentucky. Graves County is home to a pair of settlements, one of which is a Swartzentruber Amish community. Kentucky Amish settlements range from Swartzentruber to New Order communities. Amish have moved into the state in large numbers in recent decades. In fact, all present Kentucky Amish settlements (except one) have been founded over the past 40…
Roselen’s Coffee & Delights 1045 E Columbia St Arthur, IL 61911 (217) 543-3106 In last Friday’s brain dump I mentioned Roselen’s Coffees and Delights, a drive-thru coffee shop in the Arthur, Illinois Amish community. Roselen’s is operated by Amish sisters Rose Plank and Lena Otto. I guess we can figure out where the shop’s name comes from (but why did poor Lena have to lose…
The concept of “Amish community” has a number of meanings The term “Amish community” is often used to refer to the Amish in general. For instance, you might hear the questions, “What does the Amish community do when a barn burns down?” or “What does the Amish community believe about technology?” Sometimes the term is used appropriately, ie “My friend Lavern comes from the Nappanee Amish…
The Amish settlement at Mechanicsville is one of only three Maryland Amish communities in existence. The oldest Maryland Amish settlement, at Oakland (Garrett County), was settled in 1850. Today it is a single church district in size. The Mechanicsville Amish community in southern Maryland was founded nearly a century later (1940) than the Oakland community. But today it is much larger, consisting of 8 districts,…
The Amish settlement near Munfordville and Horse Cave, Kentucky is the largest in the state, with 13 church districts as of 2010. Last week I had a chance to visit a number of Kentucky Amish communities, including the Munfordville settlement. The Amish here live among the hills of Hart County, which lies about halfway between Lexington and Nashville. Munfordville and Horse Cave are both small…