There’s been a discussion recently over whether Amish in Pennsylvania should have their buggies registered and carry license plates, just like motor vehicles. Young Center Senior Scholar Steven Nolt recently appeared on WITF’s Smart Talk to discuss the issue. Here’s the back story: Drive behind a Amish horse and buggy in Pennsylvania and you’ll see a fluorescent orange, triangular placard attached to the gray and…
If you’d like a glimpse of Amish areas in the Empire State, newyorkupstate.com has posted 14 photos taken in Western New York. The article references Chautauqua County, which is home to several Amish communities, including the settlement at Clymer (10 church districts as of 2017). However, at least some of these photos may in fact be from neighboring Cattaraugus County, which includes the town of Leon, noted in a…
Anyone out there in Amish America-land catch the eclipse yesterday? I noticed a few news articles today referencing Amish and the event, such as this report or this one referencing a meeting “with some 1,200 other Amish and Mennonites on a large hill on an Amish farm.” More than a handful of Amish communities were in the path – going by NASA’s eclipse map below and state maps…
Terri Roberts was the mother of Charles Carl Roberts IV, the man responsible for the Nickel Mines Amish school shootings in 2006. Terri passed away this weekend following a 13-year battle with cancer. I met Terri briefly on one occasion, at the Forgiveness conference at Elizabethtown College in 2011. She seemed full of life and a lot more energy than you’d expect despite the disease…
The Amish community at Fort Fairfield, Maine is turning 10 years old, and Bangor Daily News has an article on the community with comments from founder Noah Yoder. With his wife and 11 children, Yoder moved to the area from upstate New York as the settlement’s first family in August 2007. We have looked at this settlement once before in 2013, following a piece in…
Don Curtis was one of our oldest readers and, writing here well into his 90s, pehaps our oldest active commenter. I just got word from Al in KY that Don passed away July 30th, at the ripe old age of 94. Al learned the news from the latest edition of the Budget newspaper. Here’s the information from the paper’s Bellefontaine, OH scribe: “Bellefontaine, Ohio Aug. 3 — Don,…
The Young Center at Elizabethtown College now has estimates available for the Amish population in 2017. Amish are currently found in 31 states, three Canadian provinces, and two South American countries (Argentina and Bolivia). You’ll find the population overview here. You can view state/province/country figures here. One new addition this year: interactive maps showing the population in each state and province. You’ll also find a list of the 12…
“I believe God made us equal. But with that said, I believe there is a headship order also.” In this brief audio interview (~3 min) Amish couple Ivan and Ruth Chupp of Burr Oak, Michigan discuss the roles of women and men in the Amish church. Ivan starts by describing Amish beliefs on headship and the woman’s role in church, with Ruth adding some comments at the…
It’s been awhile since we’ve had a nice photo post. Today reader Frank Trestka shares a set of shots from visits to Holmes County, Ohio. So enjoy some beautiful summer views of one of my favorite Amish communities. These were taken in June. I’ve added my own comments along with a couple of anecdotes from Frank. This might be my favorite shot of the bunch (well…
How different are High German and the everyday language of the Amish*, Pennsylvania German (aka Pennsylvania Dutch)? In today’s video, a High German speaker converses with three Amish people – first Menno Petersheim of Shipshewana, IN, then Ivan and Ruth Chupp of Burr Oak, MI. You can see how well they are able to understand one another, and follow along thanks to the English subtitles. The…