I’m happy to introduce Jim Cates, author of Serving the Amish: A Cultural Guide for Professionals, as a new contributor here at Amish America. I know many of us enjoyed reading about Jim’s experiences working with the Amish as a clinical psychologist. You’ll be able to read Jim’s writings here regularly now, in upcoming posts on topics including non-resistance, women’s issues, and the Amish family. But, to start at…
An Amishman in Custer County, Colorado is seeking a permit to build a commercial dog breeding facility. Animal welfare activists are speaking out against the idea, fearing the planned business to be a “puppy mill“. Amish have received a lot of bad press for some egregious cases involving members of Amish churches. This has helped foster a perception that the Amish do not treat their animals…
Sometimes small details make a world of difference. In today’s guest post, David Arment of armentphoto.com tells the story of a favorite photo. — Perry Miller was in the gallery and he saw the picture of the Amish buggy in the snow. The picture is “black and white” with a fence row down each side of the picture taking your eye to the Amish buggy…
A reader just shared this delightful video of Amish schoolchildren singing for the Ohio House of Representatives in November. In the video you’ll see and hear Marvin Wengerd speaking on behalf of the Amish. Before singing begins, Marvin holds up a 2015 Ohio Amish Directory and addresses the House: “On behalf of the 32,262 people, Amish people in this directory, we want to thank you for allowing us…
In more turbulent times, Amish parents have been fined, pressured, and even arrested, all in defense of their preferred manner of schooling. The Wisconsin v. Yoder decision of 1972 helped preserve Amish control over classroom education, leading to hundreds of Amish schools across North America. Regulations and Guidelines for Amish Parochial Schools of Indiana shows how seriously Amish take their hard-won schooling privileges today. The booklet, seen below in…
A couple of readers have sent along a link to a short news clip about Amish aiding residents of a mobile home park in Buffalo. As you can see in the video below (unavailable), photos show Amishmen hard at work on the roofs of residents’ homes (I assume this past Friday or Saturday). Buffalo, of course, was hit by a once-in-a-generation snowstorm last week, dumping…
A lot of you know Richard Stevick from his book Growing Up Amish: The Rumspringa Years, or through comments he has posted on various articles on this site. I’m happy to share that starting today, Rich is going to be writing for us here from time to time. In his first post (below), Rich discusses how he came to know the Amish, a journey that…
Family Life came in the mail today, and as I was flipping through its pages, one article in particular caught my eye. An Amish taxi driver (that is, an English person who drives Amish people) named Debbie gives a short account of her experiences for this month’s issue. Unlike a lot of the fictional or loosely-based-in-reality teaching tales in the publication, this account is described as “a true story, by…
Besides Christmas, how often do you give someone a card? Amish have been known to send all types of cards, including sympathy cards, Christmas cards, and Valentine’s cards. That also leaves aside the practice of letter-writing, which flourishes in many Amish homes (and while on the subject, we can’t forget the clever way some Amish create envelopes). One happy occasion perfect for card-sending is the arrival of a baby. Our…
I think we can include the classic Amish kick scooter as one of those icons of the Amish, along with the horse-and-buggy, hand-stitched quilt, straw hat, and so on. Even though many Amish don’t really use scooters (e.g. Amish in a lot of Midwestern communities), they are closely connected with the Amish in Lancaster County, where they’re visible everywhere. And with Lancaster Amish the most…