Reader Steve writes in with a question. I know a lot of you have Amish friends and may have faced this situation: I LOVE your website — I often find myself poring through it in the hope of finding a new or different slant on things. We recently bought a house in Lancaster County (PA) and have become friendly with the Amish family that lives…
“Sis en Bu.” “Sis en Maedel.” You’d hear these words often enough in Amish homes, with their ever-expanding families. These Pennsylvania Dutch phrases mean “It’s a boy” and “It’s a girl,” as noted in a recent article on the language, “Keeping the Pennsylvania Dutch language alive – and thriving.” Is Pennsylvania Dutch alive and thriving? Well, it depends where you look. Patrick Donmoyer and Douglas…
Thanks to everyone for another great year. It’s been over 11 years now since I fired up this site in November 2006, really having no idea at the time where posting my observations on the Amish might lead. Thousands of posts and nearly 50,000 blog comments later, it’s been one of the most enriching things I’ve ever been a part of. I hope that you…
Interesting column this week from Gloria Yoder. Gloria, an Amish mother from southern Illinois, writes the Amish Cook column. It’s not unusual to find Amish serving as foster families for non-Amish children. When I sold books in Amish communities, I would bump into these situations from time to time. This week Gloria answers several questions on fostering among the Amish. The Yoders are foster parents in addition to…
Anyone out there in Amish America-land catch the eclipse yesterday? I noticed a few news articles today referencing Amish and the event, such as this report or this one referencing a meeting “with some 1,200 other Amish and Mennonites on a large hill on an Amish farm.” More than a handful of Amish communities were in the path – going by NASA’s eclipse map below and state maps…
How different are High German and the everyday language of the Amish*, Pennsylvania German (aka Pennsylvania Dutch)? In today’s video, a High German speaker converses with three Amish people – first Menno Petersheim of Shipshewana, IN, then Ivan and Ruth Chupp of Burr Oak, MI. You can see how well they are able to understand one another, and follow along thanks to the English subtitles. The…
Longtime readers might recall the story of Amos Hertzler, an Amish boy in Cattaraugus County, NY who was born with a serious esophageal condition in addition to having Down Syndrome. We first heard of this case in 2011 when Amos was just a one-year-old. Amos hasn’t appeared in the news much lately from what I’ve been able to find, which you’d assume to be a…
An Amish-owned horse decided to go for a little ride with no one behind the wheel, so to speak. The incident happened Sunday morning in the Holmes County, OH community. From the Wooster Daily Record: Ohio State Patrol Sgt. C.O. Smith was the one of a a small group of law enforcement officers from the patrol, Wooster Police Department and Wayne County Sheriff’s Office who…
It’s hard to watch this video (below) and not smile. A class of Amish schoolchildren sings “The Ninety-Nine” for the camera in what looks to be a Holmes County, Ohio Amish school. So enjoy this sweet rendition of a 120-year-old hymn…and can you tell from the video why I guessed this to be that community? The Ninety-Nine William G. Schell, pub. 1897 The ninety-nine within…
When reading of the Amish buggy accidents that seem to happen so frequently (a second Amish woman died Wednesday following last week’s accident in Ashland County, Ohio), my thoughts eventually but inevitably go to the vehicle driver. Hard to fathom what it must be like to have someone’s soul on your conscience, even in a situation where you’re not at fault. Of course, if it turns out drugs…