Amish & Mennonites Victims of 4 Major Financial Schemes Since 2008

ByErik Wesner
7 Comments

The year 2015 brought news of an investment scam targeting Amish in multiple states. Amish-born Earl D. Miller promised investors double-digit returns, and many Amish people gave Miller their money. Miller eventually gathered over $50 million. Some of this was used to pay back earlier investors promised returns, in typical Ponzi fashion, before the scheme imploded. Amish being victimized by large-scale financial scammers is nothing new,…

The Latest Amish Buggy Skiing Video…

The Latest Amish Buggy Skiing Video…

ByErik Wesner
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It’s become an annual thing – someone films an Amish guy skiing behind a buggy, it gets picked up in the media, and proceeds to go viral. Well, why not. The latest edition in the series comes from Minnesota. Jennifer Staggemeyer shot this snippet in the Harmony, MN community. Jennifer wonders how he kept his hat on: Let’s check out some other examples. Previous videos…

The First Amish Settlement in North America

The First Amish Settlement in North America

ByErik Wesner
49 Comments

Where was the first Amish community in North America? Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is home to the oldest Amish settlement still around today. But it’s not the first place Amish settled on this side of the Atlantic. That distinction belongs to the Northkill settlement that existed in neighboring Berks County*. It was organized by 1740, predating today’s Lancaster settlement by about two decades. This historical marker,…

Carl Cisney on 4 Decades of Amish Taxi Driving

ByErik Wesner
16 Comments

78-year-old Carl Cisney is an Amish taxi driving veteran. He’s been providing rides for Amish for over 4 decades – since the time in 1975 he was asked by an Amish neighbor for a ride to a weld shop. Carl has formed deep friendships through his taxi services, even getting invited as the only English guest (along with his wife) to Amish weddings. The work…

Pinecraft Amish Community on Ukrainian Travel Show Орёл и Решка (Video)

Pinecraft Amish Community on Ukrainian Travel Show Орёл и Решка (Video)

ByErik Wesner
8 Comments

It’s always interesting to see international media coverage of the Amish. Attention can come from places you wouldn’t expect. On that note, Taste of Pinecraft author Sherry Gore appeared on a recent episode of the Ukrainian travel program Орёл и Решка (Orel i Reshka). This is a Russian-language program viewed by millions throughout Russian-speaking countries. The gist of the program is that the two celebrity…

A Visit to The Amish of Halifax County, VA (18 Photos)

A Visit to The Amish of Halifax County, VA (18 Photos)

ByErik Wesner
9 Comments

Like my visit to Enon Valley, PA in December, I only had a brief time at the Amish community at Halifax County, VA. I was returning home from my multi-state Amish trip after 2000+ miles traveled. And as you’ll see from these photos, it was the end of the day. Still, it was worth the journey, mainly for one family I met while there. The Amish of Halifax…

Eagles, Parakeets & Hummingbirds: “Pud” Sam Stoltzfus on Amish Youth Groups

ByErik Wesner
4 Comments

“Pud” Sam Stoltzfus is a retired Amish farmer and gazebo builder known throughout the Lancaster County community for his outspoken nature. He has been a frequent writer of letters to the local Lancaster paper, an impromptu spokesman for the Amish in some sense. If you get a chance to meet him, you probably won’t forget it. Pud Sam is a historian, grandfather to 51, and…

A Visit to Boyd & Wurthmann Restaurant – Berlin, Ohio (8 Photos)

A Visit to Boyd & Wurthmann Restaurant – Berlin, Ohio (8 Photos)

ByErik Wesner
32 Comments

If you’re hungry in Holmes County, you could do a lot worse than Boyd & Wurthmann. This restaurant, located in “downtown” Berlin, is a local institution, serving up sandwiches and hearty meals for 70+ years. I visited in December, again with my friend Rich Stevick. It’s a circa-1940s restaurant and it kind of has that atmosphere (I wasn’t around then, but I can imagine). I think…

Six Examples of Amish Church Rules

Six Examples of Amish Church Rules

ByErik Wesner
17 Comments

The Amish are well-known for living by specific rules on technology, dress, and other aspects of daily life. But Amish churches are not all the same. Some are more traditional, and others more progressive. Some do things one way, and others do things another way. So how do Amish people know all the dos and don’ts of their churches? The Ordnung (Church Rules) This information…

Over 200 Amish Have Taught in Mexico Since 2000

Over 200 Amish Have Taught in Mexico Since 2000

ByErik Wesner
10 Comments

Have you ever heard about the Amish in Mexico? It’s quite a remarkable story. No, there are no Mexican Amish communities (at least not anymore). But thanks to their outreach to a group of spiritual kin, the Amish have had a regular presence in Mexico for the last two decades. Old Colony Mennonites are an Anabaptist group with some cultural similarities to Amish, including Plain…