Amish Culture

Go Fund Me For 5 Amish Children Hurt In Alleged Drunk Driving Accident

From the Spooner, Wisconsin Advocate: Five children were injured when an allegedly drunk driver crashed into their horse and buggy on Monday afternoon, Dec. 7. The accident occurred on Cty. Hwy. M near Church Road, west of Birchwood. The horse and buggy was northbound on Hwy. M and was rear ended by a pick-up truck. All five children were injured, and two of them were…

Did Amish Vote In Greater Numbers In 2020?

Putting a bow on the topic of the Amish and the 2020 election, Lancaster Online asks “Was 2020 a breakout year for Amish voters? Here’s what the numbers show“. While exact numbers on Amish voters are not available, they analyzed the township data and found that it suggested that “the multi-year effort to register these communities was successful”: President Trump easily won Lancaster County in…

“What’s Amish Zoom?” Amishman Chester Kurtz On COVID (Video)

“What’s Amish Zoom?” Amishman Chester Kurtz On COVID (Video)

WKYC’s 88 Counties in 88 Days series stopped in Geauga County following an earlier visit to Holmes County. They spoke with Chester Kurtz, an Amishman associated with the Geauga Amish Historical Library, on how his community is handling the pandemic. I find Kurtz an exceptional spokesman for his people, which you can judge in the video below. Chester Kurtz. Images: WKYC This video was actually posted…

9 Ways Amish Women’s Lives Have Changed

9 Ways Amish Women’s Lives Have Changed

How have Amish women’s lives changed in the last 50 years? Fran Handrick recently completed a PhD  entitled “Amish women: work and change – an investigation into the lives of Amish women in Pennsylvania and Ohio” at the University of Birmingham. Fran is here to share some things she learned with us today – specifically nine areas where she discovered Amish women’s lives have changed,…

Amish Cook Gloria Yoder In Car Accident

Amish Cook Gloria Yoder In Car Accident

Amish Cook Gloria Yoder‘s editor Kevin Williams has filled in on her column this week for an unfortunate reason: Gloria was involved in a serious accident on the road. But this wasn’t a buggy accident, as you might be thinking. Kevin describes what happened: I wanted to reach out to readers this week in place of Gloria. Gloria and two of her children were involved…

Lancaster Amish Family Evening Singing At Home (Video)

Lancaster Amish Family Evening Singing At Home (Video)

I like this video (see bottom of post) not so much for the song itself, but for the feel of sitting around in an Amish home in the evening. You’ve got the soft glow of the propane light, the water pitcher at the ready, the utilitarian folding chairs. Dinner’s been eaten, and everyone’s circled around in the kitchen. The video description is “Understand by and…

Lancaster City Is Not “Amish Country”

The word “Amish” is getting attached to the events in Lancaster city following an incident in which a man was shot and killed by police. Specifically, some media sources have been framing this as something like “trouble in Amish Country” – but that is a mis-framing. Lancaster city is in the middle of Lancaster County, but it’s hardly “Amish Country”. There are a good number…

Is “Millie” Real? Ex-Amish Fundraiser Follow-Up (Updated)

Is “Millie” Real? Ex-Amish Fundraiser Follow-Up (Updated)

I promised I would follow up if I got more information on the Go Fund Me for Millie, described as a 27-year-old woman who left her Amish community, in what looks to be Delaware. A number of you were skeptical that this was real, which I can understand. While I reached out via two different channels to the fundraiser organizer for more information, I have…

John Schmid Sings “Amish Nicknames”

John Schmid Sings “Amish Nicknames”

My friend, country and folk musician John Schmid, is a favorite among the Amish. John’s story, at least in part, can be found here. John is the founder of Common Ground Ministries, and has been long active in prison ministry and other mission outreach via his music. If you’ve ever wondered if Amish like music beyond strictly religious songs, some – even many – do….

An Amish Obituary: Amos S. Zook, Age 93

An Amish Obituary: Amos S. Zook, Age 93

A while back a reader asked if Amish obituaries are made public. I responded with a post on the topic. I see them appear in news feeds nearly daily. They are published in newspapers and find their way online. With that in mind this recent obituary caught my eye for two reasons. One is that it is from the Somerset County, Pennsylvania community. I typically…