In this second part of an interview with an anonymous Lancaster County Amishman, we look at the phenomenon of outsiders joining the Amish, using the Amish name to market and sell products to the public, Amish participation in the recent presidential election, and the meaning and purpose of shunning. (And if you missed the first part, here it is: An Amish America Q-and-A with a…
Millers, Yoders, Schrocks, Stoltzfuses. These names are a dime a dozen in Amish America. Meet enough Amish people, and once in a while you’ll come across an unusual name, one that may sound non-Germanic or even a Germanic-sounding name that is simply uncommon. The Amish have welcomed a fair share of converts to the faith over the years. Last names such as Jones, Jess, Chupp…
The Amish-produced periodical Family Life has a feature known as ‘The Problem Corner’. Readers send in questions for other readers to offer answers on. One problem, sent in by an Amish mother in 1990, goes as follows: “…We send our children to a public school, and I venture to guess 98% of the Amish children that attend there have their yearly picture taken. We know…
Though I can’t say that all the info it contains is factually correct, just read an entertaining article on the potential for Amish voting in the 2008 election from the Daily Beast. Some may recall that George Bush made efforts to attract Amish voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania in 2004. The writer in this piece is asking if McCain shouldn’t be making the same efforts this…
From Living Without Electricity (by Stephen Scott and Kenneth Pellman): “The majority of Old Order Amish use lamps that burn “white,” or clear, gasoline or naphtha. The fuel tank in these lamps is filled with compressed air. The air forces the fuel to the generator tube, where it is vaporized, and then to the mantles, where it is burned. Mantles are loosely woven fabric bags…
photo: Rob Ward Richard Stevick, author of Growing up Amish: The Teenage Years, describes eck balle, or cornerball, as ‘the plain peoples’ equivalent of NCAA March Madness.’ From Growing up Amish: ‘Until the 1950s, cornerball flourished among most of the Pennsylvania Dutch communities, both plain and fancy. Although the “fancy” or “church Dutch” eventually abandoned the game, it still thrives among the plainest Amish groups…
‘It sure is a hard emotional read. To see forgiveness layed out (sic) in such clinical terms while for us it is just a gut feeling…I was glad to see how you stressed that we also are human and struggle with this issue on a daily basis. The thought came to mind that this generation can not claim credit for our attitude on forgiveness beings…
Big Valley, Pennsylvania is home to three main Amish groups–the Byler Amish, Renno Amish, and Nebraska Amish. They’re often known by the color of their buggies–yellow, black, and white, respectively. The somewhat fancy dash of a Byler Amish buggy. Yes, those are keys hanging on the right. You’ve got to start the horse somehow. Some Amish smoke. So this comes in handy. Also for recharging…
Today was the annual auction in Lancaster County benefiting The Clinic for Special Children. The clinic, founded by Dr. Holmes Morton and located in Strasburg, PA, serves Amish and Mennonite children with rare genetic ailments (and others from outside the Amish and Mennonite community as well). There was a large turnout today at the auction house at Leola, and much to keep one busy, including…
David Weaver-Zercher is chair of the Department of Biblical and Religious Studies at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. He is also the author and editor of numerous publications on the Amish, including The Amish in the American Imagination, Amish Grace (with co-authors Donald Kraybill and Steven Nolt), and Writing the Amish: The Worlds of John A. Hostetler. His latest book, The Amish and the Media…