Amish builders in Maine have teamed with a non-Amish business to create a “solar shed”. If you didn’t know, many Amish themselves are avid users of solar power, with the sun-guzzling panels visible on homes and barns and even on buggy rooftops. They use them to power batteries, lights, or electric fences, for instance. As Maine Amishman Joas Hochstetler explains: “Solar is pretty passive, there’s…
Marlene Miller joined the Amish half a century ago. She is a mother of 10 and member of a Holmes County Amish church. Marlene is one of the rare souls (perhaps 100?) who has joined the Amish, and actually remained in the church. Marlene detailed her experience in Grace Leads Me Home (later republished as Called to Be Amish: My Journey from Head Majorette to the Old Order) and in an…
Planning an Amish wedding for a few hundred guests, and want to make sure the special day goes off without a hitch? You’ve never found yourself in that situation, you say? Well, if you ever did, you might do well to pick up a copy of Das Hochzeit Büchlein: A Wedding Preparation Booklet. This handy guide was produced by members of the Lancaster County Amish community. It’s…
For a state with few Plain people, the Amish in Maine sure get a lot of coverage. Over the past several years, we’ve seen news stories on the atypical Amish community at Unity, ME, Amish convert and Unity resident Matthew Secich, the conservative Amish enclave at Fort Fairfield, and the Smyrna Mills community, the state’s oldest. Last year, Maine press outlets began covering a community in the works…
If you’re not familiar with the term “Amish taxi”, this refers to a service common in Amish areas of size. Non-Amish drivers, often with large-volume passenger vans, provide hauling services for their Amish clientele. Taxi drivers ferry their Plain passengers to and from doctor’s offices, shopping outlets, family visits, and work destinations. You’ll see ads for Amish taxi drivers posted on local bulletin boards, and…
Several years ago we hosted a giveaway for the book Northkill, based on the Jacob Hochstetler massacre, famous in Amish lore. Authors Bob Hostetler and J.M. Hochstetler have returned with the conclusion to that story, The Return. I hope you enjoy today’s interview with Bob and Joan, in which they explain why this story is important to Amish and Mennonites, the historical basis of The Return, and…
David and Emily (no last name given) are an Amish couple living in the Holmes County, Ohio settlement. In 2006, they sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey, and made a claim that surprised the famous talk show host. Asked if they are content, David replies, “one hundred percent.” “That is one of the nicest feelings,” Emily adds, without hesitation. “I don’t know anybody, who’s…
When reading of the Amish buggy accidents that seem to happen so frequently (a second Amish woman died Wednesday following last week’s accident in Ashland County, Ohio), my thoughts eventually but inevitably go to the vehicle driver. Hard to fathom what it must be like to have someone’s soul on your conscience, even in a situation where you’re not at fault. Of course, if it turns out drugs…
Why are we fascinated by stories of people both joining – and leaving – the Amish? Over the ten years I’ve run this website, stories on those topics have consistently gotten a lot of attention here. We could point to several reasons. For one, I believe entering or exiting a community with firm boundaries contains its own built-in potential for drama. Amish-born writers like Ira Wagler and Saloma Furlong have penned memoirs revealing the pain…
Samuel Girod’s federal trial began this week. The Kentucky Amish farmer made and sold several homemade products, some of which suggested bold curative properties, in a business running for over 20 years. These include a “black salve” called “To-Mor-Gone” (with a sales pamphlet claiming it to be “very good at removing tumors”), and a “Chickweed Salve” which had the words “Cures Cancer” on the container. This WKYT article summarizes…