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Amish Communities

Ohio Has Over 87,000 Amish — These Are the State’s 10 Biggest Communities
ByErik Wesner May 27, 2026September 25, 2026
4 Comments

Ohio is home to America’s second-largest Amish population, with over 87,000 Amish living across the state. These ten communities rank as the biggest in Ohio, based on the most current Amish population estimates (2026). Population numbers via Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College (source link at bottom). 1. Holmes County Area Holmes County Area (Holmes, Wayne, Coshocton, Tuscarawas, Stark Counties) Community…

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Buggy Accidents

Michigan Woman Gets 6 Years in Prison for DUI Crash That Killed 8-Year-Old Amish Girl
ByErik Wesner May 26, 2026
2 Comments

In March of last year, eight-year-old Alma Yoder was thrown from the buggy she was riding in, after it was rear-ended about a mile from her Van Buren County, Michigan home. Alma suffered severe injuries, and later died at hospital. Her 12-year-old brother Joey was critically injured but survived. The driver of the vehicle which hit the buggy, 31-year-old Sheila Kershner, was intoxicated at the…

Read More Michigan Woman Gets 6 Years in Prison for DUI Crash That Killed 8-Year-Old Amish Girl
Amish Business

1-800-CHATGPT: How Some Amish Are Using A.I.
ByErik Wesner May 26, 2026
2 Comments

An Amish man named Lewis Wengerd needed to research an excavating machine. He didn’t have computer access at the time. His church bans smartphones. So he picked up his flip phone and dialed 1-800-CHATGPT. That’s not the only way the Amish are using AI — but it might be the most memorable. I had never known Chat GPT has an actual number you can call…

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Amish Controversies

School Board Member: The Amish Weren’t “Used” To Vote Down School Budget – They Simply “Did the Math”
ByErik Wesner May 25, 2026
2 Comments

Last week we heard from the school superintendent of Randolph Central Schools in Cattaraugus County, New York, who placed blame for a local budget’s failure to pass on both the Amish, and those he claimed “used” the Amish to “flood the vote”. In that post I noted that those Amish living in the district, and thus having every right to vote, were likely motivated by…

Read More School Board Member: The Amish Weren’t “Used” To Vote Down School Budget – They Simply “Did the Math”
The Amish & Crime

Once-Amish Man Running Unlicensed Health Facility Claimed To Have Treated Over 70 Cancer Patients
ByErik Wesner May 24, 2026
3 Comments

Following the news of once-Amish Eddie R. Gingerich’s arrest and felony charges tied to running an unlicensed health facility, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported more on the story. Reporter Clark Kauffman provides more details on Gingerich’s clientele, and how his practice was outfitted. We also learn more on some individual patient cases – two that turned out poorly, and one with a positive outcome. Claims…

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Amish Culture

New from Mike & Marty: “Keep On The Sunny Side”
ByErik Wesner May 23, 2026

Here is an upbeat song for your day – Mike and Marty just released a new one called “Keep On The Sunny Side”. This tune was originally written in the late 1800s by Ada Blenkhorn, and later recorded by the Carter family. The story behind its writing is moving: In 1899 Ada Blenkhorn was inspired to write the Christian hymn by a phrase used by…

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Buggy Accidents

Pickup Hits Amish Buggy Pulling a Boat Before Dawn — Horse Killed, Five Injured
ByErik Wesner May 21, 2026
4 Comments

An Amish buggy – carrying at least five people and towing a boat – was struck from behind this morning, killing the horse and leaving five injured. This happened in Stark County, Ohio – part of the sprawling Holmes County Amish settlement. Here’s the report from the Canton Repository: LAWRENCE TWP. ‒ A horse died and five people were injured after a pickup truck hit…

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The Amish & Crime

Sam Shetler Pleads Not Guilty After Requesting — And Receiving — New Judge; Bond Again Denied
ByErik Wesner May 21, 2026May 21, 2026

There have been a couple of recent updates on the Mercy & Truth Retreat case. Retreat Leader Sam Shetler, indicted on 10 counts including multiple felonies, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the Cooper County, Missouri Courthouse. Also, in what I would assume is a “win” for his side, he had previously requested – and been granted – a new judge in his case. However, that…

Read More Sam Shetler Pleads Not Guilty After Requesting — And Receiving — New Judge; Bond Again Denied
Buggy Accidents

Amish Man & Horse Killed After Driver Admits Looking Away from Road
ByErik Wesner May 20, 2026

After a relatively quiet period of (at least no widely-reported) fatal Amish buggy accidents, sadly another bad one happened Tuesday afternoon. This comes out of Lafayette County, Wisconsin. In some of these accidents, the horse survives, while a rider or driver doesn’t make it, and sometimes the reverse. But in this case, both died – following one of the most common types of car-buggy wrecks…

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Amish Controversies

Superintendent Claims Hundreds of Amish Were “Trucked In” To Vote Down a School Budget
ByErik Wesner May 20, 2026
13 Comments

You’re probably aware that the Amish vote much less often than non-Amish do. But a notable minority still do vote in general elections, and on local matters. So it’s not that odd to hear of Amish people voting. But I’d never seen a story quite like this before. In a new report, a school superintendent in New York is complaining about Amish participation in a…

Read More Superintendent Claims Hundreds of Amish Were “Trucked In” To Vote Down a School Budget

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