In a post last month, I wondered if recently-legalized industrial hemp would become a new Amish cash crop – perhaps replacing controversial tobacco, most often seen grown by farmers in the Lancaster County Amish community. Another article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has shed more light on Amish involvement in hemp cultivation, now essentially in its first year being legally raised like any other crop. Industrial…
Half of them are in Indiana. Two apiece in Pennsylvania and Ohio. And one in Illinois. The list of the top 10 largest Amish settlements doesn’t change much from year-to-year. These places generally have similar steady growth. And relatively few people leaving. Update 2024: We do have one change this year, however. Allen County, Indiana falls out of the #10 spot, replaced by another community…
I was going through some photos today from my June visit to Lancaster County. There are some nice odds and ends here I’d like to share with you. I don’t really have a theme for these, other than “photos I liked”. So without further ado… 1. Beware of Nuts This warning sign hangs by the lane going up to a home where I attended church…
This is an odd story. A certain endangered orchid happens to grow in only one spot in vast Canada. That spot happens to be in a little area outside the community of Vita, Manitoba – where a new Amish settlement came to be last year. One of the settlement’s farmers is now in hot water for disobeying an order not to cultivate land where the rare…
I’m pointing this accident out as an example of a buggy road danger which I think is under-covered. Speed and lighting get a lot of attention, but hills are another big threat to Amish buggies. An Amishman is recovering with a broken neck in northern New York following an accident involving a hill. By the looks of this photo of his demolished, upside-down carriage, he’s…
Two volunteer firefighters have been charged with arson in the burning of an Amish furniture shop in Pennsylvania. The community in question is Smicksburg (Indiana County), one of the larger settlements in the state. Byler’s Custom Built Aspen Log Furniture burned down in a fire back in January. This was one of four Amish business fires which I noted at the time had happened in…
Reader Jim Halverson, who gave us a look at the Amish of Lagrange County, Indiana last summer, recently attended Yoder’s Consignment Auction in the same community. Jim spotted differences in the styles of clothing of those in attendance – particularly noticeable in the women’s dress. Clearly the Amish at the event were not all from the same community (not a surprise for a large auction)….
What are Amish customs regarding funerals – specifically the viewing, service, and burial? It’s a somber topic, but in the latest Amish Cook column, Dorcas Raber, mother of regular columnist Gloria Yoder, steps in to describe Amish funeral traditions. I’ve been to an Amish funeral, and also a viewing in a separate instance, though have not gone for the burial. I shared my observations on…
How would you feel about taking your life in your hands just to pick up some boxes of cereal? This one-minute video, shot from the cockpit of an Amish buggy, really brings home the experience of those Amish people who must regularly travel on busy highways – just to get basic errands done. Much of this was taken on Route 30 in Lancaster County, aka…
Back in February, we looked at four major financial schemes which Amish had fallen victim to since 2008. A principal figure in one of those schemes has now been ordered to pay restitution. One thing to mention up front: articles on this are describing Earl D. Miller as “Amish” (of course, that’s a catchier and more concise headline than “formerly Amish” or “Amish-raised”). However, it…