Since Hurricane Helene ravaged western North Carolina and other areas last September, there have been several reports of how Amish, Mennonites, and other volunteers have been helping with cleanup and reconstruction in the region. The good news, from one perspective at least, is that they’re still at it. This report from WYFF is from the wonderfully-named Bat Cave, NC* (NC is my home state and…
This story appeared several days ago with scant details attached. Now more has come out and (a bit to my surprise) it’s starting to get national attention. Besides getting a lot of local coverage, Newsweek has now picked it up. Amish in the neighborhood of LaValle, Wisconsin (Sauk County) had been getting harassed in their homes at night. Nine juveniles were cited for disorderly conduct….
In the time-honored tradition of neighbor helping neighbor, Amish came to the rescue yesterday, after snowfall in Tennessee caused an SUV to plant itself in a ditch. From WKRN: LAWRENCE COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — There’s horsepower and then there’s HORSEpower. During Monday’s major snowfall across Middle Tennessee, many good Samaritans lent a helping hand to drivers who were stuck in the muck. An SUV ended…
Some of you might know Amish bishop David Kline from his books about nature, farming and life, such as Great Possessions or Scratching the Woodchuck. But you wouldn’t expect someone who is a church leader, preacher and public speaker to have dealt with a stutter. However, that’s what David has had to overcome in life. His story is recounted in a nice article/radio piece from…
The Amish community in Musselshell County, Montana is one of ten in the state. It is part of a rise in interest by Amish in Montana, one of a half-dozen new settlements created there since 2015. Like most if not all Amish settlements in the Treasure State, this community qualifies as “remote”. It lies near the town of Roundup, so named due to it being…
This is just a short report with not a lot of details, but worth posting under the “Feelgood News Files” heading 😉 (that doesn’t actually exist here but maybe it should). Unnamed Amish residents of Rossie, New York alerted their non-Amish neighbors Tuesday morning that their abode was ablaze. A chimney fire, to be precise. From wwnytv.com: Fire Chief Tom Conklin says when firefighters arrived,…
A heartwarming story out of Vernon County, Wisconsin. A man named Bill Markee had a special relationship with the local Amish community. They apparently felt similarly towards him, as you’ll see in this account (via news8000.com): “My dad was a unique individual who could carry a conversation with anybody,” said Mat Markee. Born in 1936, William “Bill” Markee considered himself a part of the old…
Yesterday in LaGrange County, Indiana, a large group of Amish came together to help a neighbor in need. From WNDU 16 News: A group of about 100 Amish were out helping a friend move a huge pole barn. 16 News Now is told the person who owned the barn recently died, and the man who now runs this property has his arm in a sling…
This is a feel-good story from an off-the-beaten-path Amish corner of Ohio. Amish had remodeled a barn into a two-story home in a small settlement in Harrison County, Ohio (this is about a 40-minute drive southeast of the Holmes County community). The newly-remodeled home burned down July 2. True to form, a week later, Amish were already putting up a new home. But for me,…
Fourteen Amish families settled in a corner of Kansas (Hartford in Lyon County) in the summer of 2020. That community just held a benefit to raise funds for a new school (article in the Emporia Gazette). Amishman Eddie Yoder explained that the event had two purposes: “to raise money for a much-needed school building and also an an opportunity to get to know people in…