Previously we looked at common features in Amish homes – linoleum flooring, propane lighting, and the natural gas fridge, to name a few. But what about the more unexpected things you might find in an Amish home? The five items below probably don’t come right to mind when you think “plain and simple.” The usual caveats apply: not everything seen here will be acceptable in every church. Some of…
What would you do if the family pet started behaving badly–at the worst possible moment–at dinner in an Amish home? Jim Cates shares some humorous–and revealing–mealtime stories in today’s post on the importance of the Amish family. Are Amish and English families as different as we might think? Family: The Building Block of Amish Life Writer Nancy Mitford once said “The great advantage of living in a…
How do the Amish thrive in a hypermodern society? What life lessons has Donald Kraybill learned from them? Yesterday, Kraybill addressed these and other questions in his last major address before retirement. The talk, the keynote speech for Elizabethtown College’s “Scholarship and Creative Arts Days” (described here), was about “unpacking” Amish riddles both large and small. Lancaster Online’s Tim Stuhldreher was in attendance. Below are five points he picked up…
A nine-year-old Amish girl was accidentally shot on her family’s Mercer County, Pennsylvania farm on Saturday. Firearms are common in Amish farm households. The father had been using the 12-gauge shotgun to shoot rodents, and set it down to fish on a pond on the property. According to PA State Trooper Joseph Morris, “there were several younger children that we believe caused the firearm to discharge.”…
How do you count to ten in Pennsylvania Dutch? In the video below by Virgil Schrock you can hear a variety of speakers doing just that, in different accents. The video also includes a little bit of 11-20. There is a cute segue about 2/3 through, with a young Amish boy doing his own counting, but not in PA Dutch. Listen to the end, where you’ll…
In today’s post, Janneken Smucker discusses Fraktur, an art form once popular among the Pennsylvania German people. — Fraktur and Family Records Among the decorative items in some Amish homes—both today and in the past—have been ornamental family records, some stitched, some inked, some produced on painted glass (a unique genre that clearly deserves its own post!). These records mark marriages, births, and baptisms, and…
Following up last week’s look at 10 popular Amish male names, we have the Amish female version as promised. As with the male names list, I’ve included five Biblical-origin names, and five non-Biblical ones, since Amish tap both sources. At the end, I’ve also included 10 uncommon female names. While last week I mainly relied on Raber’s Almanac to find male first names, that approach wouldn’t…
For whatever reason, I barely pulled out my camera while in Lancaster County last month. But reader Ed C. also happened to be there, about a week before me, and has a beautiful set of photos to share with you today. As you’ll see below, his trip started off snowy, but that gave way to warmer weather. He includes nice shots of the Bart Township Fire Company…
Do Hutterites go to high school? Who teaches in Hutterite classrooms? Is Hutterite schooling similar to Amish education? You asked Linda Maendel a number of questions on education on our Hutterite questions post. Linda, who happens to be a teacher in her Manitoba colony, addresses that topic today. — On Hutterite Learning Each colony has its own school and for most of these non-Hutterite teachers come in and teach the…
What would you say are the most common Amish men’s names? As we saw in the Amish Name Game post, names repeat themselves among the Amish–not just surnames, but first names as well. Unsurprisingly, Biblical names are popular among the Amish, both from the Old and New Testament. Some given names, however, have little or no connection with the Bible. Below, you’ll find ten men’s and boys’ first names frequently…