With the election nearly upon us, we have gotten our fair share of the expected “Will the Amish vote?” articles. I’ve been seeing this coverage for months now. I have contributed to some of it as well (for some reason, mostly for French-language publications). Among the latest is this piece from Deseret News, which suggests two things of interest that could motivate more Amish to vote…
That’s the question Lancaster County Judge Thomas Sponaugle asked in the ongoing legal saga between Amish dairy farmer Amos Miller and the state of Pennsylvania. “Why doesn’t Amos Miller just go get a permit … just like every other Amish farmer in the county and commonwealth does if they want to sell raw milk?” the judge asked. “Doesn’t he see in his heart that’s all…
The matter of Amos Miller, an Amish organic farmer in Lancaster County who has clashed with the government for years over the sale of raw milk products, is making headlines again. Miller’s troubles date to 2015, when the government alleged that a listeria illness which sickened two and killed one person had its source in milk from Miller’s farm. Miller in turn objected, claiming the…
Today’s guest post is by Joe Donnermeyer of the Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities. It is on a topic that we have covered fairly extensively over the past several years – the buggy lighting issue, particularly as it has unfolded in Ohio. The state’s 2022 law requiring flashing lights on buggies predictably brought about conflict with members of the most conservative Amish communities. Joe shares…
Twenty-six members of the Amish community appeared in Ashland Municipal Court Friday to address fines levied against them for refusing to comply with Ohio’s new law requiring flashing lights on animal-drawn vehicles. At a hearing in January, the judge suggested that jail time would be coming in April if the fines were not paid. Predictably, the Amish involved have not changed their stance. And it…
A new cast member on the “reality” show Return to Amish named Johnny Detweiler has been sharing his wild Rumspringa life on TikTok. He has amassed a good-sized following of over 100,000 followers (I expect that will likely double or triple as the show has just started a new season). I’m not too keen on embedding TikTok videos, but you can check out the channel…
Do the Amish have their own dentists? Well, not in the sense of the certified, licensed professionals that you think of when you think “dentist”. But they do have people who provide basic dental services in some communities. This basically boils down to pulling teeth – both the ones you can see, and wisdom teeth – and some who make dentures to replace those pulled…
The Amish here told the judge they prefer jail to paying fines for violating Ohio’s new buggy lighting law. That might seem surprising. But it’s not, if you’ve paid attention to how these things go with Swartzentruber Amish. From Ashland Source: ASHLAND — A group of eight Amish people refused to pay their fines for their violations of Ohio’s new buggy law in a fines and…
A request to open a liquor store in the middle of Shipshewana, Indiana, the best-known town in the country’s third-largest Amish community, was rejected Thursday at a meeting of the LaGrange County Alcohol Beverage Commission. From kpcnews.com: ABC meetings are typically somewhat quiet and last in general only a few minutes, but Thursday’s meeting lasted nearly three hours as nearly 100 Shipshewana residents packed into…
Nine more Amish people in Ashland County, including two women, have been cited following citations for violating Ohio’s new flashing buggy light law. The nine pleaded “no contest” on Tuesday. Prison is already being discussed. From ashlandsource.com: Judge Good said he understands the argument. But he had a question for Mahlon J. Swartzentruber, who confirmed to Good on Tuesday that he is a leader within…