Amish Culture

10 Interesting Household Items From A North Carolina Swartzentruber Amish Auction

10 Interesting Household Items From A North Carolina Swartzentruber Amish Auction

The Amish community at Ellenboro, North Carolina is having an auction next month – the first annual sale for the five-year-old Swartzentruber settlement. What’s neat here is that the auction company has taken extensive photos of the things up for sale, posting over 100 photos online. The Amish are not “frozen in time”, as they are often labeled. But if one group of Amish were…

Jet-Powered “Thunder Buggy” Reaches 60 MPH

Jet-Powered “Thunder Buggy” Reaches 60 MPH

It’s Friday, so how about something light. So, here are a couple of guys who took an Amish buggy and strapped a jet engine onto the back of it. Why not. The two men behind the rocket buggy live somewhere in Amish country and are apparently racing enthusiasts. One of the two bought a jet engine online by mistake (he thought it was “turbo shaft”,…

Amish & Social Media: Youth Now On Instagram; Women Using It For Business

Amish & Social Media: Youth Now On Instagram; Women Using It For Business

Lancaster Online recently published a series of articles on the Amish and social media use. Eight years ago this topic got attention when it was publicized in another Lancaster Online report that Amish youth were using Facebook. We also saw Facebook covered in books like Growing Up Amish: The Rumspringa Years. Yet time passes and things change, especially in the fast-moving world of social connectivity…

Amish Women’s Clothing – What Differences Do You Notice? (16 Photos)

Amish Women’s Clothing – What Differences Do You Notice? (16 Photos)

Reader Jim Halverson, who gave us a look at the Amish of Lagrange County, Indiana last summer, recently attended Yoder’s Consignment Auction in the same community. Jim spotted differences in the styles of clothing of those in attendance – particularly noticeable in the women’s dress. Clearly the Amish at the event were not all from the same community (not a surprise for a large auction)….

Lancaster County Amish Realtor: “We have to move”

On its own, that’s a dramatic statement. There is some context, of course. First of all, who said it? This was Chet Lapp, a 37-year-old Amishman from Lancaster County. Lapp also happens to be a real estate agent in the community. From the WITF story by Rachel McDevitt: Chet Lapp, an Amish realtor, argues more of his fellow Amish should leave Lancaster County for the purpose…

5 Insights From Indiana Amishman John Gingerich

5 Insights From Indiana Amishman John Gingerich

Are the Amish “backward”? Do they miss modern things we take for granted? What’s the correct way to pronounce “Amish”? Chuck Lofton of news station WTHR recently rode along with John Gingerich, an Amishman who operates a tour buggy in Shipshewana in northern Indiana. John shared several interesting insights as they rode around town. He seems like the kind of guy you’d want running your…

20 “Unique” Ways Amish Raise Their Children..?

20 “Unique” Ways Amish Raise Their Children..?

I have lately been seeing a lot of list posts on one or another aspect of Amish life. These typically have catchy titles and are designed to get you to click on them. Hard to resist a list! (I’ve been known to create a few myself 😉 ) One caught my eye this week – “20 Unique Ways The Amish Raise Their Kids (That No…

Amish Church Clothing (8 Photos)

Amish Church Clothing (8 Photos)

What do Amish wear to church? In addition to their many women’s head coverings, the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center also has several items of church clothing on display. The Woman’s Cape & Apron First of all, a woman’s cape and apron: The cape and apron are commonly worn on Sunday across communities (we had a look recently at Amish wedding clothing, showing another example of…

Reader Photos – Amish Clock Shop, William Penn Land Doc, & More

Reader Photos – Amish Clock Shop, William Penn Land Doc, & More

I’ve got some nice photos shared by readers over the past months, which I’ve been wanting to pass along to you. We’ve also got one piece of writing. Here we go! 1. Amish Timepiece Shop – First of all, long-time readers might recall a 2012 post on Mahlon Shetler’s Clock & Watch Shop in Dayton, NY. That post was based on photos and comments from another…