The Latest Amish Buggy Skiing Video…

Tragic happening in York County, PA (the area across the Susquehanna which is considered part of the Lancaster County settlement). The York Daily Record gives an account of the accident, which happened Friday morning, and the community’s response thus far: Friday morning, Amos Stoltzfus dropped off some of his wife’s fresh-cut flowers at the Country View Market on Route 74, not far from their home…

The first clue that I’d arrived in the Amish area of Charlotte County, Virginia was a sign warning of buggy traffic for the next 15+ miles. The second indication was this little building on the side of the road: There were phone shacks (or shanties) just like this one found throughout this community of two churches. The Amish here have ties to the Mechanicsville (St….

We are about to turn the page on another year. How time flies. As we always do this time of year, a look back at some favorite posts from the past 365 days. Some of these posts were highly-viewed. Others generated good discussion and responses from you. They’re not all necessarily about happy topics (for example, the Rebekah Byler case, which is due to finally…

I recently sat down for an hour-long conversation with Marlene Lehman, who is a member of an Old Order Amish church in the Shipshewana, Indiana area. I really enjoyed speaking with Marlene as we talked about life in northern Indiana, how things have changed, tourist visitors, things she misses about the farming life, and what Marlene does to help run Plain & Simple magazine, along…

In an age of sophisticated computer software that can calculate a hifalutin statistical outcome which only a few mathematical geniuses can understand, one can forget the value of other ways to knowing about peoples and cultures anywhere in the world. In volume 3, issue 2 of the Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities (JPAC), however, we are reminded of the importance of plain, everyday communication between…