Amish Culture

Bill Coleman 1925-2014

Photographer of the Amish Bill Coleman passed away last week at the age of 88. From the Centre Daily Times: Bill Coleman, who died Tuesday at 88 of complications from a heart attack, went on to befriend Amish families who invited him into their lives, granting the local photographer rare access to scenes outsiders seldom glimpse. He became known internationally for his Amish images: buggies…

Do you know these 10 Amish terms? (Quiz # 5)

It’s been about 9 months since our last Amish words quiz, which tells me time flies. You’ve been consistently impressive in your previous answers, so I keep trying to make each new quiz slightly more difficult. Each of the 10 terms below has some connection or meaning related to the Amish. If you know the meaning of one, a few, or all, let us know…

Painting Pinecraft, Tributes in Verse, and Chemo Confusion

Good morning!  A Friday grab bag of news and other items of interest: Chemo case confusion An unexpected twist in the Ohio chemo case, summarized in this headline:  “Guardian wants Ohio court ruling to stand in Amish chemo case even though she wants off case” (article no longer online).  We got news about a month ago that the court-appointed guardian wished to drop the effort…

Amish Church & Inclement Weather

Winter Storm “Ion” (The Weather Channel gives big snowstorms names, apparently) has been plowing through the Midwest, bringing frozen precipitation and frigid temperatures. You know this is a real storm due to the many school cancellations and business closures in places where things don’t usually get canceled, including in the “toughest” of the winter states like Wisconsin and Minnesota. What do Amish do when the weather is this bad?…

Wisconsin Amish Ice Harvest

Wisconsin Amish Ice Harvest

Have you cleared out that fridge yet? Or still plowing through holiday leftovers? I had to creatively re-arrange mine just to fit all the extra Christmas goodies in. When I moved into my current home, I went without a refrigerator for a few weeks. Fortunately it was the dead of winter, so the windowsill made a makeshift fridge for a while.  That wouldn’t work anymore….

Horse-and-Buggy Snowboarding in Amish Indiana

A few years back we shared a short clip of an Amish fellow skiing behind a buggy in Ohio.  Skiing and other winter sports can be particularly popular with young Amish males. Today, photos of more winter fun, taken somewhere in Indiana. These youth snowboarders are carving up the “slopes” courtesy of a single-horsepower engine (there actually is something of a slope, or ridge, which…

Hunting: Not just for Amish Men

As we’ve noted before, some Amish are avid hunters. Hunting is not just for the guys, however.  In a column titled “Shotgun Season opens on deer”, Lovina Eicher, aka The Amish Cook, describes her girl’s (or is it girls’?) involvement in hunting: Our daughter, Elizabeth, doesn’t have to work today. Her factory is closed so workers can take advantage of the opening day of the shotgun season on…

Pumpkins in Amish Country (15 Photos)

Is it just me or do pumpkins make their appearance earlier every year? They have been camped out in front of the local Kroger, and popping up around the neighborhood for the last week or two at least. People just seem to like being around pumpkins, and pumpkin-branded things. They’ve certainly gotten into our foods. McDonald’s is selling some pumpkin coffee now, and so is…

Amish Children – Back in School (12 Photos)

School has been back in session in Amish Country, and for that matter much of English Country, for a few weeks now. Ask an Amish child how he feels about going to school and you’ll get a range of answers, just like you might hear from his non-Amish counterpart. Some enjoy it very much and look forward to the return of school days. Others would…