In a post last week, I mentioned visiting Manhattan with my friend Ben Riehl in search of the dealers where his father David once sold antique Amish quilts. I also shared a bit from his related 2018 talk at Elizabethtown College. Ben has kindly passed along a written version of that talk which I’ve posted below. If you missed the original post, David Riehl was…
Something unusual today. I managed to find a listing for an Amish home in Colorado (not currently for sale). This won’t remind you much of other homes we’ve seen (at least not on the outside). This is the Westcliffe community in Custer County. Not a lot of Amish in the Centennial State – only five settlements, most just one church in size. With few other…
The FBI has now joined in on day 3 of the search for Linda Stoltzfoos. Via Lancaster Online: The FBI has joined East Lampeter Township police as the search for a missing 18-year-old woman enters day 3, according to East Lampeter Township police. Linda Stoltzfoos, of East Lampeter Township, was last seen in Bird-in-Hand wearing a tan dress, white apron and a white cape on…
I just found this unusual photo while checking out Amish homes for sale online. I have often seen similar flags attached to pony carts and other smaller vehicles used by Amish. Those are pretty common in larger communities like Holmes County (and a good idea there, considering the area’s hilly terrain). But I’ve never seen them on full-sized buggies – or at least not as…
Reader Jerry, an avid Amish auction-goer, is back on the Amish auction trail. He recently attended a sale held by Nebraska Amish — aka “white-topper” Amish, which is what some call them on account of their buggies with white tops. This auction happened Saturday at a Zook farm on Back Mountain Road in Milroy, Pennsylvania (Big Valley area). This was to support the hospital benefit…
18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos went missing Sunday after failing to come home after church. Police believe she “may be at risk for harm or injury.” From WGAL: BIRD IN HAND, Pa. — Police in Lancaster County are looking for a missing 18-year-old woman, who was last seen on Sunday. East Lampeter Township Police issued the following missing person advisory: “On Sunday 6/21/2020, Linda Stoltzfoos (18 year…
From Cleveland 19 News: CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The Ashland County Health Department says a recent outbreak affecting the area’s Amish community stems from a wedding. The outbreak, which is declared when at least two or more individuals test positive for an infectious disease like COVID-19, in the Loudonville area originated from an Ashland County resident who attended a wedding, according to health officials. That…
A look at one of Kentucky‘s oldest Amish settlements – plus another Amish business map to add to the growing collection. This one is in Crittenden County, near the town of Marion. There are four church districts; Amish have been here for over 40 years. An article which ran in the Crittenden Press in 2018 marked the completion of their fourth decade in the community:…
On the whole, the Amish are avid hunters. In Nature & The Environment in Amish Life, one Amishman puts plainly how much hunting mattered in his community: “When I was growing up, if you didn’t hunt, it was almost as if you didn’t belong.” (p. 148). Why does hunting appeal to the Amish? For one, hunting is an outdoor activity that can be done with…
David Riehl is a person I’d heard a lot about – both reading his story, and directly from his family. David was a key figure in the development of the Amish quilt industry. His is one of the more unusual tales of an Amish person crafting a successful enterprise – by taking his goods right into the heart of the nation’s largest metropolis. Beginning in…