Have you ever heard anyone make a claim like “the Amish are against technology”, or that they “shun” modern conveniences? There is even the idea that Amish think technology is “evil”. I recall the video for the silly Weird Al Yankovic song, with Amish feet stomping on a pile of gadgets in one scene. These ideas are out there, and they get perpetuated by television…
An upstate New York man used explosive Molotov cocktails to “burn down the mailboxes” of two Amish “business associates”. It’s been well-documented that Amish can be targets of vandalism and harrassment. Some cases are driven by pure dislike of the Amish, or as a sort of boredom-killing prank. This case seems to have had a financial motive behind it. According to the story in WNYT…
This happened Sunday in Oswego County, New York. From syracuse.com: Richland, N.Y. — A woman was killed Sunday afternoon when a pickup truck crashed into the back of an Amish buggy in Oswego County. Two people were thrown from the buggy after the carriage was rear-ended on county Route 41 in Richland, the New York State Police said. Susan Swartzentruber — one of the two…
“Amish Atheist” certainly feels like an oxymoron. That’s what I thought when first hearing about the turn in Kenneth Copp’s life in a story four years ago. Copp originally appeared on this site even earlier than that, when he was still with the Amish and living in the Unity, Maine community. In 2013 one of our readers contributed a guest post on Unity, much of…
I’ve got some photos of the community at Daviess County, Indiana to share with you today. These were taken by a friend of mine and emailed to me several years ago. For whatever reason, at the time I didn’t get around to posting them. I wanted to share them because we have surprisingly relatively little on Daviess County on this site – and basically no…
A non-Amish young lady has opened a pretzel business after learning the trade from Amish pretzel stand owners. And they are supporting her in her new venture. I found this a neat story (no longer online) for the fact that Serena Zentner wore Amish clothing while working at the Wyomissing (Reading, PA-area) farmer’s market: In December, Zentner was an apprentice at the soft pretzel corner. Wyomissing PA…
Last year a Michigan Amish family of nine were struck by a car while traveling by buggy. Sadly, the father has died of his injuries. Now the community is having a benefit dinner for the family, and an English friend is promoting it online. Here’s the information via the Facebook post: Our Amish neighbors in Hale are having a benefit dinner for the family of…
This is a neat story via kpcnews.com which demonstrates that not all Amish attend the classic one-room schoolhouses. In the larger settlements in particular, like Holmes County and northern Indiana, local public schools have a significant Amish makeup. This article reports on the graduation day at Westview School Corporation, which is located in the little hamlet of Emma in LaGrange County: EMMA — In a…
From the Akron Beacon Journal: An Amish horse and buggy driver was killed after a crash with a pickup truck Thursday morning. Edna Keim, a 17-year-old girl from Homerville, died in the crash. According to a news release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the crash happened on state Route 301, north of U.S. Route 224 in Homer Township. The Medina Post is investigating the…
Last year, a PA State Deputy saved a 3-year-old Amish girl in a runaway buggy. Here’s another feel-good story – also involving law enforcement, Amish, and a speeding vehicle. Deputy Travis Goodwin of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office made a traffic stop to remember Friday. From Fox8 Cleveland: “There is no such thing as a routine traffic stop, that’s for sure,” Goodwin said with a…