New York Amish: Book giveaway and interview with Karen Johnson-Weiner

“New York” and “Amish” may seem an odd match.

But the Empire State has seen its Amish population soar in recent years, and is currently home to the 5th-largest grouping of Amish in North America.

SUNY-Potsdam Professor of Anthropology Karen Johnson-Weiner has spent years researching the various Amish communities in New York.

Karen’s new book New York Amish: Life in the Plain Communities of the Empire State is the first to explore Amish settlement in the state.

new york amish quilts

While you won’t find any Amish on the island of Manhattan, since 1949 they have established nearly three dozen settlements across the state, from Western NY to the North Country near the Canadian border.

Today, Karen answers questions about the Amish of New York state, in this first part of a 2-part interview.

New York Amish giveaway

We’re also giving away a copy of New York Amish.  There are 2 ways to enter this contest:

  1. new york amish book johnson weinerLeave a comment or question on this post=1 entry
  2. Mention this contest on your own blog (1 entry) and/or Facebook (1 entry).  (drop a quick email to amishamerica@gmail.com to let me know you did)

…for a possible total of 3 entries.  The winner will be drawn at random in one week’s time, on Thursday Sep 16th. (entries accepted until midnight EST Wed Sep 15th)

I found the book fascinating and one of the best I’ve read on the Amish.  I hope you will too.  Thanks to Karen for sharing such an interesting interview.

Karen Johnson-Weiner on New York Amish: Part 1

Amish America: In recent years the Amish population in New York has grown by leaps and bounds.  What are reasons Amish have found the Empire State attractive for settlement?

Karen Johnson-Weiner: The Amish are moving for different reasons. Many are coming from large, crowded settlements, while others might be avoiding internal conflicts.  Some find they can no longer afford to purchase property in their home community—or there may be no farms available. They’ve come to New York State because there is available land at reasonable prices. New York offers them the opportunity to maintain—or even return to—an agrarian lifestyle.

AA: In New York Amish you examine the wealth of diversity across Amish society in New York, ranging from Swartzentruber to New Order communities.  Can you explain the implications of “being Amish” in different ways, i.e., how does this diversity affect daily life and relationships across Amish communities?

KJW: How a group is Amish—its Ordnung and the way the Ordnung structures the life of the church—shapes the work one can do, whether one can work with non-Amish and how and where, what kinds of technology one will use in the home or in the shop, how one will dress, whether your buggy has a top or a windshield, what one will study in school, and with which other church communities one will fellowship.

For example, members of the most conservative Swartzentruber factions are not permitted to work “in town,” and so carpenter crews can build houses only in rural areas—their counterparts in more progressive communities can work on homes and garages located within village or city limits.

new york amish school
A conservative Amish school in the Conewango Valley

From birth to death, one’s life is shaped by how one’s community is Amish. A Swartzentruber baby wears cloth diapers and no rubber pants, while a baby in a more progressive community may wear a disposable diaper, meaning that washing diapers takes up much more of a Swartzentruber mother’s time than these tasks do in more progressive communities. Moreover, since the cloth diapers on that Swartzentruber baby cannot be the “prefolded” kind most stores sell, the mother has more sewing to do to make diapers.

Because the Swartzentruber Amish and other conservative groups have not accepted gas refrigerators or freezers (for example), women do much more canning than those in communities that have these things.  And, if your community has freezers, then the men don’t need to harvest ice in wintertime.

One’s church determines how one will do other tasks as well—some groups have chain saws and others don’t, some permit indoor plumbing while others sanction only (manual) hand pumps, and some permit battery-operated table lamps while others rely on kerosene lanterns. Women who must oil their wood floors plan housework differently than those who wash linoleum. How one is Amish also limits social interaction.  Young folks from one church group won’t date someone from a group that’s not in fellowship with their own.

new york amish sausage
Sausage-making in a Swartzentruber Amish home

Amish diversity affects Amish interaction with the non-Amish world as well.  The Ordnung may limit the extent to which a group can comply with local ordinances.  Swartzentruber Ordnungs do not permit church members to display the slow moving vehicle sign on their buggies or wagons.  Many groups have had difficulty with local zoning boards.  Members of some very conservative Amish churches do not have social security numbers, which makes banking difficult.

AA: You describe the differing non-Amish responses to Amish settlement in New York, ranging from the newspaper letter-writer who described Amish buggies as “a good omen” to the one who rather viewed Amish transportation as “anything but…picturesque”, and  “an accident waiting to happen.”

Why the disparate reactions?  In what ways have Amish cooperated with the non-Amish public in New York, and how have they come into conflict?

KJW: Amish families often become good friends with their neighbors.  Depending on the type of Amish, members of the community may be working for or with non-Amish individuals or businesses, and Amish church members from all communities get to know the non-Amish with whom they interact.  Even Swartzentruber women running farm stands make close friends among their customers!

NY Amish Mayville Brown Buggy
Buggies of the fairly conservative Mayville Amish feature an SMV triangle and minimal reflectors

When there is difficulty—whether personal or resulting from natural disasters—the Amish are there to help their neighbors. When dairy farms were hit hard during an ice storm that cut off power across a wide swath of northern New York State, the Amish pitched in to help milk cows by hand.

Amish also pitched in to help when flooding affected New York’s Mohawk Valley.  More routinely, many Amish contribute items to local fire department fundraisers, and Amish parents routinely send their children to help chore for elderly neighbors.

new york amish clymer buggy
Clymer Amish buggies are well-lit, and  equipped with windshields and sometimes wipers

When the first Amish families move into a region, their non-Amish neighbors are often unsure about what to expect from them. Some praise them as pioneers, individualists, spiritual gurus, and back-to-the-land environmentalists, but others reject them as scofflaws, and religious extremists. Moreover, there are a lot of myths, half-truths, and imaginative fictions about the Amish, and when the Amish don’t behave like their new neighbors expect them to, there is sometimes resentment.

The Amish want to be good neighbors, but being good church members comes first, and this may cause difficulties—especially since one group may permit things that a neighboring group does not, causing those in the mainstream to wonder what’s really Amish.

Major conflicts have come over issues such as the refusal of very conservative churches to use the slow moving vehicle triangle on buggies and wagons, the inability of groups to meet state requirements for building permits, child labor, and children’s healthcare.

As I noted in my book, New York Amish, the Amish sincerely believe that they must remain separate from the world, and so being different or “unconformed” is a sign of faith. After all, the Amish say, if God’s truth is unchanging, then God’s church must also resist change. And because they are different in a fallen world, the Amish expect that they will be persecuted like their Anabaptist ancestors.

new york amish home interior
Inside a Swartzentruber Amish home

As a result, when Amish church members have to go to court because, having followed the Ordnung, they have violated different statutes and laws, they do so firm in their belief that they are suffering for their faith. Worldly society establishes the norms to which Amish society cannot conform and, thus, helps to shape Amish life. But, since rejection of social norms is, after all, rejection of those who establish them and the laws that perpetuate them, conflict may be inevitable.

AA: “Swiss” ethnicity Amish are generally lesser-known in the public.  You detail Swiss Amish settlement in New York in a chapter devoted do this group.  How do Swiss Amish differ from Pennsylvania German ethnicity Amish?  To what degree do Swiss Amish interact with non-Swiss communities in New York?

KJW: The Swiss Amish have a somewhat different history than their Pennsylvania German counterparts; although they chose an Old Order path, few Swiss Amish leaders attended the 19th century Diener Versammlungen, which helped to define the Old Order Amish churches.

The Swiss Amish have a reputation for being stubborn, and their communities have been shaped by internal conflict.  Today the large Swiss Amish settlements in Indiana are marked by distinct clothing, buggy styles, and, of course, the Shwitsa (Swiss German) dialect they speak, which their Pennsylvania German counterparts find difficult to understand.

The three related Swiss settlements in New York State, which trace their roots to Indiana, all have historical and family connections to Old Order non-Swiss Amish settlements in Michigan and Indiana, and so their black buggies with tops and patterns of dress help them look much like their non-Swiss Amish counterparts in those regions.

The Swiss communities in New York cooperate with their Amish neighbors, joining in barn raisings and shopping at Amish-owned businesses.  But their social interaction is with those groups with whom they fellowship.

————————————————————————————–

Continue reading part 2 of the New York Amish interview with Karen Johnson-Weiner.  Read more on New York Amish in the Amish State Guide, or find Empire State Amish woodworkers in the NY Amish furniture guide or Amish Furniture Rochester NY directory..

Get the Amish in your inbox

Join 15,000 email subscribers. No spam. 100% free

    Similar Posts

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    167 Comments

    1. Judy Cooper

      I enjoy anything written about the Amish. It would be a treat to win this book.

    2. Osiah Horst

      As an Old Order Mennonite with an interest in all things Amish and Mennonite, I will definitely have to acquire this book one way or another.

    3. Linda Moffatt

      How very interesting, always wanted to learn more about the Amish, can’t wait to read more!

    4. Aletha

      Hello!!! I love learning new things about the Amish and I would love to win this book so I can learn about the New York Amish.

    5. Marti Walker

      I would love to win a copy of this book, I am a big Amish fan having lived near them most of my life in Indiana and love their beautiful traditions and would love to know how the New York Amish live. And since you are writing it I know it will be factual and amazing, God bless, thank you..

    6. Patti Acklin Benson

      Such an interesting article….always so much to learn about the different groups of Amish….Anxious to read the book….

    7. Jacquie

      I would love a copy of New York Amish.
      Your books are always an inspiration to me.
      Blessings, Jacquie

    8. Barbara Davis

      My granddaughter, daughter-in-law and I love to read all things Amish! I hope to win the book so that I can share it with them. I have traveled in the areas mentioned in this article and it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever see. I did not see any of the Amish but can certainly understand why they would choose to live there.

    9. Ann Whitaker

      Karen’s book would be a nice addition to my growing “Amish Library.” Thanks for an interesting interview, and best of luck to all who have entered!

    10. Janet Murphy

      Beth Wiseman, best selling author of the Daughters of the Promise series, posted a link to this article on her blog today. http://blog.bethwiseman.net/2010/09/08/new-york-amish-and-book-giveaway.aspx
      I would love to win a copy of Karen Johnson-Weiner’s new book.

    11. JoEllen McNeil

      Travelled thru Leon Amish area this summer while on vacation. Would love to win this book and read it.

    12. Tracy Beard

      I’d love to win a copy of this book. Quite interesting!

    13. Lynn Hughes

      I would love to win a copy of this book. I hope to be the lucky one that wins.

    14. Alice Nickels

      I would love to win a copy of your book. I love books about the Amish. We have a community here where I live and I have several friends in the community.

    15. Louise

      Loved the article would love to read more……..
      I am very interested in the Amish and thier way of life.

    16. Will Hepfer

      I’ll be ordering a copy if I don’t win. Thanks to Beth Wiseman for mentioning this website at BLOG.BETHWISEMAN.NET.

    17. Interesting to learn more about Amish, especially in a place you don’t hear much about.

    18. Marie Dawson

      I would love to win this book, it would be an excellent addition to my Amish collection.

    19. Bonnie

      I am looking forward to the second article .I didnt know about Amish in New York. I would love to win the book.

    20. Kristie Donelson

      Sounds like the author did very thorough research. I’d love to win a copy!

    21. Diane Veness

      I loved this interview. I learned alot i did’nt know. And i would love to have the book……….Diane Veness

    22. Mary Drain

      I would love to win a copy of your book

    23. Diana Bush

      Very good, I really enjoyed reading this. Would love to have a copy of this book.

    24. Diana Bush

      Very interesting. Would love to have this book.

    25. June Watson

      Cannot wait to read. The Amish amaze me. Their faith is amazing.

    26. Rose Goddaard

      Awesome interview, also loved the picturs! I am always up for winning another book. would love to be a “winner”!! Of course wwe all do!! 😉

      Thank you

    27. Angela Grubaugh

      I really enjoyed this interview. I had no idea there were amish in NY! I love reading amish books and look forward to reading this one also!

    28. Any book about the Amish is interesting to me. Please enter me in the contest!

    29. Susan Strominger-Ditzler

      Loved the interview….the Pennsylvania Amish have different buggys than the ones in the pictures. Must read this book. Thanks.

    30. lanore

      I would love too read more about the Amish in N.Y since I live in N.Y. I found them very interesting. Thank you for a chance too win one.

    31. I would love to read the book as I am unfamiliar with the Amish in New York. Thank you. Marianne

    32. Daniel Endy

      I believe I first heard of this book from Suzanne Woods Fisher. Sounds interesting. Enter my name in the drawing please.

    33. Diana Jones

      I love all amish books i love to read them and i bet this is as good as all the others

    34. sharon wilson

      Loved the interview..hope to read the book ….

    35. Donna

      I love the Amish and their way of life. I would love to win a book. I read all the Amish books I can as I find them so interesting. I will be looking forward to the next article.

    36. Linda Geertsma

      Did not realize Amish live in N.Y…nice to learn something new every day..great interview and I would love to win this book and I know I will be hooked..thank you for this offer:)

    37. Sherry Shook

      Interesting article. I like learning about the Amish. Would love to win the book. Thanks

    38. Sarah

      Sounds really interesting! I would love the opportunity to win a copy.

    39. sherry

      this is really interesting , would like to win a copy of the book.

    40. Marilyn

      I’ve enjoyed what was printed here. Collecting and enjoying Amish books is a hobby of mine. I’d love to have a copy of this one!

    41. You’re a born salesman, Eric! 🙂
      (And I am out for a free book, I admit.) 🙂 Mike

    42. Pam Burke

      I am fascinated with learning all I can about the Amish. Please enter me in the contest for your book.

    43. Stephanie Surrett

      This was a very informative article about the Amish in New York State. Even among the Amish communities it is still interesting to find out about how each one is different according to their Ordnung. Looking forward to reading part 2 of this article. I would love a chance to win this book to further my knowledge of the Amish.

    44. Thanks Mike! And good luck (:

      And appreciate the heads-up on the buggy Bill.

    45. Jude

      Please consider me for a free book. I was once the teacher for the Amish in Clyde, NY.

    46. Sherrie Lacey

      This is an interesting article. I would love to win a copy of the book. I read both fiction and non-fiction books on the Amish. I admire their strong faith in God and their commitment to family and to their Church.

    47. Until I read this interview, I was unaware of the Swiss Amish in New York. Very enlightening information and I look forward to the 2nd interview. This really intrigues me because my genealogical background is Swiss. This is just one more of the facts in this world that I didn’t know…until now. Thanks for the giveaway and I appreciate the chance to win this book. I hope I do!

      Sharing Christ’s Love,
      Barb Shelton
      barbjan10 at tx dot rr dot com

    48. How fascinating! I reviewed a book about the Hutterites recently and found them to be similar in some ways to the Amish.

      madamerkf at aol dot com

    49. susan hamme

      Fasinated with the amish and read whatever becomes available. Love to win the book, but will get a copy of it anyway. Looking forward to part two of interview.