When I first began spending time with the Amish, I felt like I was entering another world. I would drive my car from gritty Decatur, Illinois, where I was living for the summer while selling books, 45 minutes southeast to the farms, fields and fresh air of Moultrie County. Crossing into “Amish territory”, it seemed like I passed through an invisible border. Much of what…
I think you’ll notice quite a contrast between this photo and last week’s Swiss Amish home photos. This was taken in a Michigan Amish home by Karen Johnson-Weiner: Comparing these photos you can really see the diverse material standards of different Amish groups. I’ve zoomed in on a couple parts to make things more visible: Notice anything familiar? Also if you missed it, inside a…
I just got off the phone with an Amish friend, “Alvin”, from Holmes County. I like to call Alvin, a furniture maker, from time to time, to check up on things in Amish Ohio. The big news? March Madness, or I suppose the Plain equivalent, is apparently heading to Holmes County. I’ve written a number of times about Amish and sports. Sports and games are…
Nadege Armour asked in a comment yesterday: Any chance we might be able to see the inside of an anonymous Amish home? Well, here we have a photo of the inside of an Amish home near Clymer, New York, shared by Amish researcher Karen Johnson-Weiner: First off, you can see one of the most important types of technology in an Amish home (at least in…
Traveling through Amish settlements you may notice something like this: That’s not a Plain people hauler, nor the caboose of some sort of horse-drawn train. This bulky vehicle is a church wagon, and you’ll see them throughout Amish America. Each Amish church district will have its own wagon, used to transport benches from one location to the next. The benches are mainly used as seating…
In her guest post last Friday, Kate Hastings pointed out how common calendars are in Amish homes. Kate noted that while visiting an Amish friend, “I realized that I could see six picture calendars from where I was sitting in the kitchen.” The calendars “featured horses, barns, lighthouses, bluebirds, and wildflowers.” While you won’t find family portraits on Amish walls, you will find a range…
Today is the first day of spring (also known as the furthest day possible from next winter). Depending on your latitude, you may need the calendar to tell you that. But even if your weather this morning doesn’t seem so springy, it will be here soon enough. With spring, plants know the wait is over. They may now officially begin to sprout and grow. Of…
There’s been a change in Illinois: Amish gun owners will now have to “say cheese” for their gun IDs. According to this news story, if things stand Amish will apparently now need to have pictures on their Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) cards. This story might shed some light on a couple of lesser-known topics: photo IDs for Amish and other religious minorities, and the Amish approach…
A few items of interest for your Friday: Amish winter headwear Reader Slightly-handled-Order-man recently asked: Could you write an article on Amish winter clothing? Well, I don’t know about a whole article, but why don’t we start with the head? The Amish straw hat is an icon, and comes in a wide range of styles. But did you know that when it gets chilly many…
When the going gets tough, sometimes low-tech saves high-tech. The video below was shot last week during heavy snows near Ottawa, Pennsylvania. I doubt either of these guys imagined they’d be doing this when they woke up that morning. Hope they ate their Wheaties, but looks like the horses certainly did: Did you catch the field mouse running for his life in the middle…