I like to end the year with a look back at some favorite posts of the past 12 months. These were posts with a positive theme, that got a lot of comments, and/or are just personal favorites. Rather than order them by topic as I’ve done before, this year I’ve just listed them in chronological order. Recollecting the year gone by, I want to include…
I was sad to learn yesterday that my friend Mose Smucker is shutting down his sandwich and meats business at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia after 12 years. A new city vaccine mandate on food establishments (taking effect January 3rd) means The Grill @ Smucker’s will shut down for good on New Year’s Eve. Mose, who is 70, made it this far but it looks…
I always enjoy Lovina’s column but this was nice to see – her daughter Susan took over writing duties last week. If you recall, Susan lost her husband Mose over a year ago, leaving behind two small children. In this column, Susan writes about her niece’s school Christmas program and dealing with her loss, among other things: Last night was Abigail’s Christmas program at the…
St. Lawrence County, NY hosts a half-dozen separate Amish communities, and this week’s Amish home comes from one of them. This is in the vicinity of the town of Norfolk. Several things about this home caught my eye, including the catchy price tag. One thing a bit unusual about this listing is that you can see what I have to assume is the owner in…
Here are some of the things I saw yesterday visiting Amish communities in Kentucky. I made it to four different settlements, stopped in a couple of stores, and met some nice people. Kentucky is increasingly loaded with Amish settlements (around 50 of them) and it seems like wherever you are, you’re a stone’s throw from some sort of Amish community. My first stop yesterday. They…
I’ve been out visiting Amish communities for the past couple of weeks. Last week I was in Colorado, visiting four of the state’s six settlements. The views were spectacular and it was nice to see how Amish live in the West. Distances are greater and several Amish people I spoke with noted the dry climate but people also love the natural beauty of that state….
In this video I take a look at some Amish women’s hair customs, including the difference between a bonnet and a kapp, differences in prayer covering styles, and whether Amish women cut their hair. Runtime: 4:36.
We go to Michigan for this week’s Amish home and you can immediately see that this one has had a previous life as an English home. That’s evident by the light switches, bare electrical connections where light fixtures would be, and overall design of the place. You can even tell just by looking at the exterior that this home was not originally built for an…
If you’re still looking for a nice holiday gift, or some tasty treats for when guests come over, you might consider a cheese gift basket by Goot Essa (an advertiser here). This is an Amish-owned company that came on my radar last summer in regards to their shift to online sales in response to the pandemic. Goot Essa (which means “good food” or “good eating”…
Among the dozens of victims of last weekend’s spate of tornadoes were four members of an Amish family in Graves County, Kentucky. The Washington Post reports on the aftermath (article behind paywall): MAYFIELD, Ky. — Through the rain and darkness on Friday night, Chris Crawford heard a baby crying. The tobacco farmer had ventured into the howling wind a half-hour earlier to warn his neighbors…