A reader writes: I took this picture about a month ago in Shipshewana. The surrey buggy on the right is totally different than others in the community. It was a new buggy. I showed the picture to an Amish friend and he said something to the effect of “once and a while you see things like that. Seems like it’s usually new people moving into…
We recently looked at how Amish use turbines to harness the wind and create power. Â But what about when they need to do the reverse–generate a little wind of their own, say to keep cool in the hot summer months (remember those)? You may have seen Amish-engineered ceiling fans before. Â They are common in Amish shops. Â You can see one in action here (no longer…
Do you know these Amish-related terms?  Why are they important to the Amish? Thanks go out to Linda for suggesting some of these terms.  And if you missed it the first time, here is the original 10 Amish terms quiz (with answers in the comments section). 1. Wedding wagon 2. Truck patch 3. Dach-weggeli 4. Crowding the fence 5. Cockscomb 6. Zeugnis 7. Eck ball 8….
A year ago I noticed a stark change while in an Indiana Amish community. Â Solar panels and spinning wind turbines had populated many an Amish roof in the 5 years since I’d last visited. Later, in an Amish-owned store in another settlement, I viewed an array of technologies designed to harness the wind and sun. Â Amish, at least in some places, are taking up these…
So often we see only the exterior of an Amish buggy. The distinct silhouette of an Amish carriage is so easily recognizable it’s become a symbol of the people. What’s inside that buggy? Interiors can vary based on what’s accepted in a given Amish church, and also on the age of the driver (with the more “creative” interiors found in the vehicles of the younger…
We started the week with Amish GPS but now head in the opposite direction, technologically speaking. Brenda shares photos today from the Carroll County, Tennessee Amish settlement, of an old Maytag washing machine.  Brenda has previously shared photos from Amish wash day in this settlement, so this makes a good follow-up.  Amish are known to use old-fashioned machines but this one seems more venerable than the norm. You…
I got an email this morning from Linda raising the question: …have you heard, too, the idea that Amish could be an ethnicity or ethnic group. People that have an Amish heritage may not be Amish any more, but they might think in Amish ways, or be ethnically Amish? I’m not sure I agree, because the lifestyle and beliefs are much intertwined. In the secular…
Today’s photo, from Mike of Primitive Christianity: Mike adds: Â “I know Old Order Amish are not opposed to some forms of modernity. It just strikes me as a good representation of the mixture of old and new. Somehow one doesn’t seem to think that GPS units are needed on such a slow-moving, short-distance vehicle.” I first assumed this is a youth buggy, though, perhaps not….
The same reader who shared with us about Ada the quiltmaker offers some impressions of Amish women in general: How many never-married 60-something Amish women are out there?  The one I know has a very distinct individuality that I believe is due to her single status which has freed her to be the open, in-your-face sort of gal she is. Not that Brownville is lacking strong-willed women…
Weddings are happening right now in many Amish areas. Â Amish weddings are joyous events but also social obligations. Â With the interweaving web of family connections, and weddings often happening on the same day during wedding season, Amish families may have to juggle their schedules and make decisions on which to attend. Further complicating things is being invited to weddings in other communities. Â I recently spoke…