How about a feel-good story? Delta, Pennsylvania lies in extreme southern York County. Amish live in two places in the county – five or six church districts lying across the Susquehanna river (technically part of the Lancaster County settlement), and a separate stand-alone community. It turns out local Amish have been glad for the generosity of one area business owner. From Reader’s Digest: In 2013,…
In February we had a look at the first Amish settlement in North America, located at Northkill in Pennsylvania’s Berks County (founded approximately 1740). I recently came across an interesting Ontario historical blog with a photo of a plaque marking the location of the first Amish settlement in Canada, which came about some 80+ years after Northkill. Here’s the text from the plaque: THE FIRST…
Lycoming County, PA’s Washington Township wants local Amish buggies and their horses to change – in a pretty big way. From Pennlive.com: ELIMSPORT – “Blatant discrimination” is what an attorney for Old Order Amish says about proposed ordinances in a rural Lycoming County township that would require horses on public roads to wear a device to collect feces and to have rubber horseshoes. A third…
The Young Center has just published their annual Amish population numbers. As of 2019, an estimated 342,100 Amish live in four different countries. That includes Amish in: 31 US States 4 Canadian Provinces One settlement each in Bolivia and Argentina There don’t seem to be any big surprises after looking over the figures. Unlike most recent years, there were no new states, provinces, or countries…
Members of a Missouri Mennonite community have forgiven the teenaged driver who struck a buggy July 11th, resulting in the death of a 7-year-old boy. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Meanwhile, some men in the Mennonite community have met with the boy to forgive him for killing 7-year-old Mervin Shirk. “They wanted him to know they were not harboring ill will against him,” said Clay…
It seems the most contentious issue with Amish moving into Lancaster County towns and subdivisions has to do with housing horses. Amish have been seeking allowances to keep horses on smaller-than-normally-permitted properties. Who among the Amish wants to live in a suburban or “in-town” home? These may be young families, or older retired couples, who have downsized from the farm, but still need to keep…
What is an Amish church directory? Why do Amish publish them? What kind of info do they contain? In the early days of this website, I did a post on the subject, with a look at my 2002 northern Indiana directory. Don Burke is here to explain further what these guides are, and why you’ll find them in many an Amish home. At last count…
The Amish in Texas County, Missouri are few in number. Nonetheless, they’ve found themselves frequent victims on the roads lately. A woman and her two children are in serious condition after their buggy was hit Friday night by a pickup truck. This was the third buggy accident in two years for this sparsely-populated southern Missouri County. Texas County is unusual for several reasons. It is…
Each year the Amish at St. Ignatius, Montana hold an auction to support their local school. This year’s edition just took place. From the Ronan, MT Valley Journal report: ST. IGNATIUS – Rain clouds opened up for a few minutes during the Amish community’s annual auction, held on Saturday, making a pile of watermelons glisten before they were sold to the highest bidders. “The rain…
Do Amish people believe that when you take their photos, you also take their souls? I’ve heard this idea from time to time over the years. It has always seemed to me like an urban legend or romantic exaggeration – with perhaps just a loose basis in what Amish actually believe. The latest case comes from a wagon tour guide in the Ethridge, Tennessee Amish…