A nice article appeared last week in the Maysville Ledger Independent, on the May’s Lick, Kentucky Amish settlement. In it we see a great example of a community helping out newcomers in a time of need. An Amish woman named SaraEtta Coblentz describes how several families from Indiana made the move to this corner of Kentucky in 2004. It sounds like they chose a good…
What kinds of natural remedies do Amish use? The book Plain & Happy Living: Amish Recipes & Remedies by Emma “Jonas Em” Byler covers many of them. It includes chapters like “General Tonics”, “The Herbal Medicine Chest”, and “Poultices, Plasters and Salves”. The more recent book Nature & The Environment in Amish Life also contains a chapter looking at herbal remedies and natural medicine use…
Members of the Lancaster County Amish community contacted police – after first meeting with church leaders – about alleged cases of sexual abuse in their midst. From Lancaster Online: In what appears to be the first such case of its kind in Lancaster County, an Amish bishop has been charged with failing to report suspected sexual abuse. Levi S. Esh Sr. 63, of Pequea, was…
Some years back I wrote a post on why Amish don’t discuss pregnancy: I never know when Amish friends have one on the way. I show up and there is another baby or one clearly about to happen. And even when it’s obvious, it never comes up, even as a mention. … You’d think it would be hard to contain the excitement. Yet I believe,…
Authorities in Geauga County, Ohio are filing charges after breaking up a party of over 100 people. Via FOX8: GEAUGA (WJW) – The Fox 8 I-Team has learned the Geauga County Sheriff’s office arrested one, issued a summons for another, and charged two with underage drinking, following a large Amish party this weekend. Deputies were sent to a home on Bundysburg Road in Huntsburg Township…
Over half a century ago, Amish writer Joseph Stoll penned a series of articles on Amish surnames, titled “Amish and Mennonite Family Names.” These were published in the then-fledgling Family Life monthly, in four parts spanning December 1968 to March 1969. I’ve chosen origin stories for five common names to share with you today. Where did common Amish names come from? Do they have any…
We have a look inside a less commonly-seen home today – an Amish log home. It’s not that often that you find Amish families living in log homes. I’ve only come across them on occasion, though they might be more popular in certain settlements. This one is found in the Bonduel, Wisconsin community. The settlement is three churches in size, and lies in Shawano County,…
Back when I was tallying up the list of Amish communities I’ve already visited, I got to thinking about the ones I haven’t been to yet, but would like to visit. The list below is my current “top seven.” Maybe one of these is on your list? 1. Conewango Valley, New York This plainer-side Amish settlement, as of 2025 approaching 3,000 people in size, has…
Penn Live reports that a Chester County, PA woman has been accused of stealing 12 puppies from two Amish couples while they were away from home at church service. Charges, filed Monday, come well over a year after the thefts were reported: MIFFLINBURG – A Chester County woman is accused of stealing 12 pug puppies valued at $14,700 that were being raised for sale by…
While preparing today’s other post on stolen Amish puppies, I stumbled across an old article on a bizarre story I’d never heard mention of before. On November 5, 1995, the New York Times reported the following: When the reports of a bank robbery in Wall Township came into the F.B.I. office in Newark on Oct. 25, agents knew it was the same two men who…