Amish in Hardin County, Ohio are embroiled in an outhouse controversy that’s been percolating for the past year (more details here). Amish are balking at requirements that new homes have a “proper well”, paid waste removal, and septic system. Common practice in this community is to spread outhouse waste on the fields. Health and environmental concerns are the reasons given for enforcement. Interestingly, old homes…
Fracking is slowly entering the Amish community at New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, located an hour north of Pittsburgh. The community lies above the Marcellus Shale, an underground rock formation stretching across a half-dozen states which contains vast supplies of natural gas. Fracking, in a nutshell, works by drilling into rock formations, and then injecting large amounts of water mixed with chemicals and sand to fracture the…
Over the weekend a number of readers sent me a Lancaster Online article which happens to be the best behind-the-scenes look at the ‘Amish Mafia‘ program, and reaction to it, that I’ve read. Some highlights below. On main character Lebanon Levi, from an Amish-raised man who knows him: “He’d rather sit back in a corner than go after somebody,” the man said, claiming he’s hung…
What are the boundaries of Amish work? Besides tech limitations, conscience corrals the jobs Amish will do. Morally-questionable businesses are out-of-bounds. For instance, you won’t find Amish working at reservation casinos in Wisconsin, or selling liquor in downtown Philadelphia. But what about working in vineyards? Grape cultivation falls under agriculture, a comfortable occupational zone for Amish. Many Amish have their own home vines, using their…
A reader shares a photo of an Amish-owned business in the Shipshewana area of northern Indiana. Is paintball popular among young people in this community? I’ve heard of paintball guns being used by Amish youth before, notably in a tragic incident involving Amish teen pranksters in Ohio. This isn’t the only sports facility owned by an Amish person. The 850 Center is another notable one in…
Every four years inquisitive reporters try to discern what the Amish are planning to do in the upcoming presidential election. I think this is partly due to natural curiosity–what do a “people apart” think about a civic activity such as voting? But mainly I believe people are interested because the largest Amish populations are found in Ohio and Pennsylvania, two swing states heavily contested in…
News came earlier this week that the long-running dispute between Amish and authorities in Morristown, New York, has come to an end. You might remember a post last spring on the Amish smoke alarm issue; if you viewed the PBS documentary The Amish you would have seen this case discussed. To review, Amish had refused to follow local building codes (updated by the town in 2006), arguing…
A black walnut dental treatment is apparently enjoying popularity in Amish (and I assume other) circles. Black walnut extract is claimed to fix cavities, cracks, and toothaches. A local dentist, however, says it doesn’t work. Dr. Stephen Raffensperger is quoted on the treatment in this article. He is adamant that it does not do what it claims. But he’s not being listened to. “If I…
I am speaking with someone shortly for a story on use of the Amish name to sell products. I’ve found this a topic people react strongly to. Doing anything involving the Amish name to make a buck is obviously exploiting them, after all. I’ve also found that with reflection some see it differently. There are a number of topics like this, where there is sort…
There is apparently one Amish-attended event where cameras are not at all welcome: dog auctions. Or at least undercover cameras aren’t. WFMY News reports that a producer and videographer working incognito were tossed from a recent Millersburg auction and threatened with arrest. I can’t say I’m too surprised, given that it was on private property. And given that there is a reported ban on recording…