If you’re near Hicksville, Ohio, tomorrow, you might want to drop in on the Defiance County fair for one of America’s rarest sporting events: I picked this flyer up at the Topeka auction house here in Indiana. I found the terms of the race pretty interesting–“a limit of five horses per race”; “all drivers must wear a helmet”; “any type of cart or buggy may…
SMV triangle, streamlined top, mini-door. What is this thing? A road-ready chicken coop? I took this photo yesterday in the Allen County (Grabill) Indiana Amish settlement. Today I’m off to Michigan. Will have more on this photo tomorrow, but til then, what do you think? Update: Mystery shack explained? We got a lot of interesting guesses on the Allen County mystery shack. Everything from a portable…
A little while back I gave an interview for a newspaper column on Amish frugality. One example which I think captures the mindset (and which I wish I’d shared) was what happens at Amish schools in the summer time. What happens? Well, this: All that green stuff you see, that’s normally the schoolyard 8-9 months of the year. But rather than let the land lie…
Continuing our “Signs of an Amish Home” series, let’s have a look at milk cans. Milk cans seem to be another one of those quintessential symbols of the Amish–who else uses them nowadays? A few other Plain groups perhaps, but not many others. If you see them stacked up by the road or by the barn, that’s a sign of a likely Amish place, and…
On a recent post on Amish architecture, I shared some sure-fire ways of picking out Amish homes from the non-Amish. Some of those ways have become less sure-fire as Amish homes have come to resemble English ones. Rich Stevick helpfully added some other signs of Amish abodes, including the trampoline, loved by Amish children. Here’s a shot of one from the hilly Munfordville-Horse Cave, KY Amish…
Mary Brandenburg shares photos of a basement and washing machine from an Ohio Old Order Amish home. Basements in Amish homes typically have cinder block walls and cement floors. You’ll have a sink and an area to process food. You’ll also have a stove of some sort piping heat throughout the house in winter. Card tables for summer lunches and games like ping pong are…
Amish women let their hair grow, so they have a lot of it. Hair pins keep all those locks in place, up underneath a prayer covering. I thought I’d give you a look at some plain hair pins. I picked these up at an Amish dry goods shop (not for personal use, demonstration purposes only, ha-ha). They’re thick and sturdy, about 3 inches long, and…
Tamara asked this question a couple of days ago. As she suggested, it seems like a pretty good topic. In fact, Tamara’s exact question was: “Has anyone had a very close relationship with someone who was a “member in good standing” in the Amish church?” Keith James has already shared a bit about a friend of his, an Amish bishop. Keith writes: He was 46…
From a Lancaster friend’s home: Sharpening minds and no. 2’s: Sigh. I remember spending a bit more time with these, once: Here’s the full list of Amish home interior photos.
Are you a “quilt person”? I’ve slept under them, written about the people who make them, and watched them go up for auction. But I have to admit, I’ve probably under-appreciated Amish quilts, and quilts in general for that matter. Lately that has begun to change. I’ve got a section on quilts in an upcoming book. That led me to learn a bit more about…