I have a tradition of doing this favorite posts roundup post on the last day of the year. I’ve done this going back to at least 2014 (though it looks like I missed 2016 for some reason). These are “favorites” – what does that mean? Well, some are those that got the most views – or the biggest stories from a news perspective. Some were…
The sign you see here welcomes you to Peachey’s Country Store, a place definitely worth stopping if you find yourself in the Somerset County, Pennsylvania Amish community. I had this spot in mind for a re-visit ever since I was here in 2015, and was happy – though not surprised – to see it was still in business when I visited the community earlier this…
Ben takes the lead on this bouncy rendition of another gospel classic – “City of Gold”. Like the last song we looked at, this one appeared on the duo’s album, and now gets a video. There was something a bit odd here though – this one was released at the same time as “Lily of the Valley”. I wondered why, as Ben and Rose typically…
Many of you probably recognize the name Don Burke as someone who has provided many wonderful photos for the site here over the years – as well as a number of excellent guest posts about visits to Amish communities. In today’s post, Don shares with us how he first came to visit one of the Amish communities he grew to know well – that of…
Ben & Rose are back with their rendition of “Lily of the Valley”, an old gospel classic. This is another track from their album, which they are just releasing a video for now. And it’s another which dates back a good ways – written by Charles William Fry in England in 1881, for the Salvation Army. Here’s more on the interesting back story of the…
And by “spill the beans”, that doesn’t exactly mean they share all the juicy details people might imagine. It’s more about sharing the reality that not all Amish youth (or even most of them) have the wild growing-up period that has taken hold in the popular imagination, thanks to TV and other media. Laura Pitcher of the UK’s Dazed magazine interviewed five Amish youth in…
Author and Amish taxi driver Haley Straw shares part four of a four-part Christmas series. It follows the true story of a young boy from Chicago, whose longing for warmth and belonging sends him on an unlikely winter journey toward an Amish community he’d only read about in a library book. This retelling draws from the original “Please Let Me Stay” account shared in a private family history book….
One year after Ben & Rose were first covered in the publication, Saving Country Music has returned to the musical Amish couple, sharing some behind-the-scenes about their lives and background. I know a lot of people have had some questions about that – including some of the Amish folks in Lancaster County who I talked with recently. I heard a few things here and there,…
Here’s a great video of a group of Amish people – mostly children – stopping by to sing Christmas carols at an English friend’s home. This was filmed in Holmes County, Ohio. The friend is P. Thomas, who you may remember from other singing videos we’ve shared here. The singing true to form is lovely and they have quite a good-sized group here. I had…
An update to a tragic story that is now coming to a close, of sorts. Last December, 10-year-old Amish boy Anthony Miller lost his life when he was hit by 30-year-old Logan Thomas, driving a pickup truck and under the influence of multiple drugs, including meth and fentanyl. This happened in the sizeable Amish community in St. Joseph County, Michigan. Thomas pleaded guilty to the charges…