Diane Bell’s story sounds like something from a novel or a Hallmark holiday film. Diane was left on an Amish porch as a 3-month-old, over 40 years ago. Her story was told in an article featured in Lancaster Online which we looked at here last year. From the original article: Forty years ago, a widowed Amish woman and her daughter watched from their window late one night as…
Interesting column this week from Gloria Yoder. Gloria, an Amish mother from southern Illinois, writes the Amish Cook column. It’s not unusual to find Amish serving as foster families for non-Amish children. When I sold books in Amish communities, I would bump into these situations from time to time. This week Gloria answers several questions on fostering among the Amish. The Yoders are foster parents in addition to…
We’ve previously seen video footage from within a Lancaster Amish home, as well as photos from inside homes of the very plain Swartzentruber Amish. But this is the first video I’ve come across showing the interior of a Swartzentruber home. In the video below, LaVonne DeBois of Heartland Tours gives us a look inside the home of a family she is obviously well-acquainted with. It’s not common…
How many social media friends do you have? And how many would you also consider “real-life” friends? I have some who fit both categories. But with hundreds of online connections, it’s literally impossible to keep up, in a meaningful way, with everyone. Jeff Smith, who wrote Becoming Amish on the conversion journey of Bill and Tricia Moser (see posts on the 6 richest aspects and 5 challenges of…
Lancaster Online reports that a new Amish settlement has been founded in Lancaster County’s next-door neighbor, York County. Why is this news? It’s notable because it’s the first example of a new, more deliberate strategy of creating Amish settlements. Amish have actually lived in York County for quite some time. But these Amish have been considered a part of the greater Lancaster County settlement (which also…
Several years ago, Don Burke befriended an Amish family in the Jamesport, Missouri Amish community. Earlier this year, one of the daughters, raised Amish but not a member of the Amish church, asked Don to take the photos of her upcoming wedding. She wanted the event to have elements of both Amish, and other traditions – as she put it, “a little Old Order Amish, a little New…
Yoder’s is a well-known Amish-style restaurant in the Pinecraft Amish community of Sarasota, Florida. I had a chance to sample several of their fine pies in a visit several years back (peanut butter chocolate, coconut, and the key lime). You can see that and many other photos of the Pinecraft community here. Yoder’s pies are yummy – guests from far away spots like Atlanta and Michigan…
Amish carriers of a gene mutation live about 10 years longer on average than others in their community without the mutation. They also appear to be “completely protected from the development of diabetes”, according to the study’s lead researcher. This story is going around the internet like gangbusters now. The discovery was made by scientists from Northwestern University: The first genetic mutation that appears to…
The Winnipeg Free Press reports that Canada will soon have a fourth province with an Amish presence. Amish from Ontario are buying land and planning to settle in Manitoba, about 100 miles south of province capital Winnipeg, in the Rural Municipality of Stuartburn: Swidersky estimated about 100 Amish may settle there, mostly young families starting out. There are already highway signs featuring a horse and buggy…
Don Burke shares photos today from a special event in Jamesport, Missouri. This is the first of three parts. — Over the course of about four years and several trips to Jamesport, MO, I first become acquainted with and then made good friends with a special Amish family there. During that same time the Amish community has been going through some changes. A New Order…