Just revisiting a story from the early days of the Covid pandemic. One of the positive stories out of that period was about the efforts in Plain communities to produce masks and other PPE for first responders and the general public. We saw examples of this in communities including Lancaster County, New Wilmington, PA, and northern Indiana. In this story by WKYC, John Miller of…
From Cleveland 19 News: CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The Ashland County Health Department says a recent outbreak affecting the area’s Amish community stems from a wedding. The outbreak, which is declared when at least two or more individuals test positive for an infectious disease like COVID-19, in the Loudonville area originated from an Ashland County resident who attended a wedding, according to health officials. That…
From the Wooster Daily Record: MILLERSBURG — Coronavirus cases in Holmes County have spiked in recent weeks after the county spent months in the single digits. The Ohio Department of Health reported on Friday that 84 cases had been detected in the county, up from 15 cases a month ago. The county has reported three deaths and five hospitalizations from COVID-19. The uptick in Holmes…
It’s just a little detail at the very end of this story, on Amish in Maine and coronavirus. But worth drawing attention to. This is the Unity community: They also added, they’ve been receiving Stimulus checks but they will not accept them and those will be returned to the Federal Government. The Amish don’t accept direct government aid as they like to maintain their independence…
Lovina Eicher of Lovina’s Amish Kitchen reports in her latest column on church service restarting in her Michigan community. Sunday, we hosted church services in our pole barn, which was the first time we met since the lockdown. Our church members decided to gather for the service and then all leave and have their lunches at home. Below: a photo of Lovina’s family’s pole barn,…
One more Amish mask post (last one?). This one was a little under-the-radar, but caught my attention for several reasons (via the Beaver County Times). One, this is probably the plainest Amish group I’ve seen involved in mask making. This is New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Amish here are not as strict as say Swartzentruber Amish, but this is one of the most traditional Amish communities. These…
We’ve seen how Amish in Pennsylvania and Ohio have helped fill the need for masks and other PPE. Amish in Indiana have been doing the same: GOSHEN – In early April, an Amish man in Middlebury found out that Goshen Health had created kits for the community to sew masks. He showed up to request 150 kits, each containing enough materials for 10 masks. Colleagues…
Trade publication Furniture Today gives an optimistic look at how the Amish furniture industry is positioned to rebound once states “reopen,” and business can start getting back to something like normal. They spoke with several sources, including Roy Miller who is CEO of a large-for-the-Amish manufacturer which, like many others, has been shut down for weeks: “I have some hopes that by May 1, we…
Lancaster County Amish churches decided to suspend worship services over a month ago. How will they resume them again? We find an outline of a plan in this article in the Mennonite World Review. The article is not just about the Amish. It gives a good overview on how various Plain Anabaptist churches have responded to the coronavirus situation (hat tip to Al in KY)….
An Amish roofing contractor last week became the first business in Pennsylvania to be cited for violating the order “barring the continuation of non-life-sustaining operations.” From Penn Live: According to state police, Middle Creek Roofing based in Millcreek Township, Lebanon County, had twice been warned following numerous anonymous complaints. A trooper arrived at the business again at about 8 a.m. Thursday. While there, the trooper…