I wrote about instances of Amish women wearing rings back in October, sharing two photos taken by Jim Halverson. Amish generally don’t wear jewelry, but there are exceptions. I cover the topic again in the video below, which includes some additional commentary from Jim, as well as reader Andy Weaver, on the matter. After the original post, Jim added this info, on a visit to…
I just got back from a very Christmas-y week in Lancaster County. Christmas is in the air everywhere, even though it was warmish with not a ton of frozen precipitation (except for one morning). Amish families have been doing late-in-the-game shopping for Christmas presents, just like non-Amish people are this week, and some have already been having family get-togethers. While there, I attended two early…
In September I wrote about one person’s expression of disappointment on discovering the Amish using plastic packaging. You can read that post here if you missed it. In that post I looked at a couple of the misconceptions that might lead one to be disappointed in a cultural group’s choice of food packaging. These were the somewhat related ideas that a) Amish are “frozen in…
In the video below I explain two main reasons why Amish restrict their children’s schooling to eight grades. If you’d prefer to read this in post form, you can do that here. Some additional things to know about Amish & schooling: Amish school teachers are usually young women in the community (though some men do teach, perhaps around 10%) Not all Amish attend one-room schoolhouses;…
In this video I look at two questions concerning the Amish & tobacco: do they smoke tobacco, and do they raise it? The short answer in both cases is “yes, some do” but to get a fuller picture, you can check out the video. I’ve also covered this briefly in articles on the Amish & smoking and raising tobacco. Runtime: 2:56. 
So a couple of interesting photos from Jim Halverson today, where you can see what looks like Amish women wearing rings. This first is from a recent auction in Clare, Michigan: And here’s another, also from an event at Clare (2020) – the woman in purple: Now, when looking closer, I must admit it occurred to me that the woman with the bags could perhaps…
The Good ‘N Plenty restaurant was one of the best-known Lancaster County eateries, serving PA Dutch style meals for over 50 years, until the pandemic-related downturn put them out of business. Now, an Amish group has organized to purchase the property and make it into a health clinic catering to the area’s Plain community. Via Lancaster Online: A group organized by members of the Old…
This is the second part of the Q&A I did with my friend Ben in Lancaster County in June (here’s the first part, on Amish & auctions). In this one, Ben describes how he buys buggy horses for his family – what characteristics he looks for in a horse, where he buys them, and price. He also explains how different family members get different kinds…
I’d never heard of this one. But it’s apparently taken off in some Amish communities. Spikeball‘s rules are simple. It’s played in two teams of two. I won’t try to explain the game in depth here (this is what I watched to learn the rules). But essentially you have three hits of a ball, back and forth with your teammate a la volleyball. The object…
Albert Miller grew up as the son of an Amish church deacon in Holmes County, Ohio. He left his community at the age of 18, got his GED, attended Kent State University and eventually medical school, before becoming a doctor. He documents his journey in a new book: You Can’t Do That!: The Story of an Amish Deacon’s Son Who Left the Fold and Became…