New From Ben & Rose: “On Heaven’s Bright Shore”. And…Are They Still Amish?

New From Ben & Rose: “On Heaven’s Bright Shore”. And…Are They Still Amish?

Ben and Rose are back with their first release of 2026, this one called “On Heaven’s Bright Shore”. There has apparently been more than one song with this general title/chorus. This version we are told was written by a gentleman named Roscoe Reed (not to be confused with another song by that name dating to the early 1900s). They sound great as usual, with Ben’s…

10 Years Later: How The Amish Helped Clean Up After A Devastating Mississippi Tornado

10 Years Later: How The Amish Helped Clean Up After A Devastating Mississippi Tornado

This remarkable article caught my eye this week. Sue Watson, writing for the South Reporter, recalls the cleanup efforts following a devastating tornado strike in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She looks back on the 10th anniversary of the event, which happened in December of 2015 – noting the helping hand extended by Amish and Mennonite volunteers from Pennsylvania. She shares two striking photos as well. We’ve…

12-Year-Old Amish Girl Injured, Horse Killed After Pickup Driver “Drifts” Onto Shoulder

12-Year-Old Amish Girl Injured, Horse Killed After Pickup Driver “Drifts” Onto Shoulder

This happened yesterday in Otsego County, New York. I called an Amish friend living in this area earlier today. He informed me this was someone not from his, but one of the other communities in the county (there are three Amish settlements in Otsego County). Though it’s not his immediate community, he had actually already been to the hospital to visit her. The good news…

This Minnesota County Just Got A First-Of-Its-Kind Buggy Warning System

This Minnesota County Just Got A First-Of-Its-Kind Buggy Warning System

This sounds similar to what’s been under consideration in Virginia, but we see it’s already being put into action in Fillmore County, Minnesota – at least on one stretch of road. Here’s more from a news release from the Minnesota Department of Transportation: CANTON, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Transportation has installed new flashing driver alert signs to help increase motorist awareness that an…

Woman Killed When Drunk-Driving Former Wrestling Coach Hits Buggy (Lancaster County)

Woman Killed When Drunk-Driving Former Wrestling Coach Hits Buggy (Lancaster County)

The driver is a former local wrestling coach, and this isn’t his first time on the wrong side of the law (more on that below). Police determined that Danial Ranck Miller, 33, was under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he struck a buggy yesterday outside Gap, PA, ejecting and killing the woman driving it. From Lancaster Online: Danial Ranck Miller, 33, of Berks…

Amish, Mennonites & Others Come Together To Can 80,000 Pounds Of Chicken For Charity

Amish, Mennonites & Others Come Together To Can 80,000 Pounds Of Chicken For Charity

This month, the only mobile meat canner in the world is making a stop in Goshen, Indiana – an area with a large Amish and Mennonite population. It’s there to be used in a big charity effort which sees hundreds of volunteers pitch in to can chicken meat, destined for locations around the world where meat is hard to come by. This is a Mennonite…

I Witnessed An Actual Amish Buggy Race (27 Photos)

I Witnessed An Actual Amish Buggy Race (27 Photos)

Following our look at an Amish buggy-race-that-wasn’t, Don Burke shares more behind that story – and adds another layer, showing us an actual Amish buggy race in a different settlement. Don first gives us some background on the community where this took place (Clark, Missouri) – then a closer look at a youth buggy race that should probably come with a “don’t try this at…

Amish Mother Ruth Miller Back In Court as Legal Teams Debate Jury Guidance Ahead of March Murder Trial

Amish Mother Ruth Miller Back In Court as Legal Teams Debate Jury Guidance Ahead of March Murder Trial

Ruth Miller – the Amish mother facing aggravated murder, among other charges, in her four-year-old son’s August drowning death – was in court yesterday for a pre-trial hearing which lasted about a half-hour. Miller’s trial is scheduled to begin March 4th, so just about two months from now. There was not a ton of headline-grabbing news made, though one important issue was addressed (and except…

Amish Buggy Totaled in Pre-Dawn Crash; Somehow Amish Man & Children Walk Away

Amish Buggy Totaled in Pre-Dawn Crash; Somehow Amish Man & Children Walk Away

Somehow no one was injured in this early-AM crash yesterday in Vernon County, Wisconsin. Looking at the photos, you’d expect otherwise, seeing the heavily-damaged buggy on the roadside. From the Vernon Reporter: WESTBY, Wis. — Authorities say no one was injured when a pickup truck struck a horse-drawn buggy early Saturday in rural on U.S. Highway 14 yesterday. The crash happened around 5:15 a.m. on…

What’s the Deal With “Suddenly Amish”? 4 Key Questions Before the Premiere

What’s the Deal With “Suddenly Amish”? 4 Key Questions Before the Premiere

You may have heard there is another Amish-themed TV program releasing soon – “Suddenly Amish” – on TLC. Here’s the show summary: TLC’s all-new series SUDDENLY AMISH follows six non-Amish individuals on a rare journey as they leave behind their modern “English” lifestyle and step into a deeply traditional Amish community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Seeking a profound change from their present way of modern life,…