Katie Troyer’s Pinecraft

Katie Troyer’s Pinecraft

“Maybe one each season says ‘don’t take any pictures’”. That’s friend of the blog Katie Troyer answering a question she’s no doubt heard before. You can see Katie and hear her discuss her passion in a new video (below). You may have enjoyed Katie’s photos at various places on the web (and even offline – I have a calendar featuring her work on my wall at home)….

The Amish of Garnett, Kansas

The Amish of Garnett, Kansas

Earlier this year Tom Geist shared his visits to Amish communities in Plains States, including Chouteau, Oklahoma, Hutchinson County, South Dakota, four Nebraska communities, and Yoder, Kansas. The Amish have a scattered presence across the Great Plains, which you can see in this map taken from a directory dedicated to those states (photo by Janar S). Today Tom gives us a look at another Kansas…

Amish in Monte Vista, Colorado

Ernest Bontrager has a clip of still images taken in the Amish settlement at Monte Vista, Colorado (Rio Grande and Conejos counties). It’s not a new video (2010), but is a nice look at the type of sights you might see in a western Amish settlement. I haven’t visited Amish further west than Iowa, so I like these looks at communities in the Mountain Time Zone….

What is Amish Wood Milk?

What is Amish Wood Milk?

A few months ago I started to notice search traffic coming to this site for a curious term. “Amish wood milk” is not something I’d ever heard of. But quite a few people were looking for it, with even dozens a day landing here for “Amish wood milk”-related searches. How where they arriving at Amish America, since–to my knowledge–I’d never written anything about this mystery liquid…

Amish Aid English After Silo Topples

Amish Aid English After Silo Topples

You see a lot of this type of story. Amish-helping-English or vice versa. “Feel good”, though usually a bit boring (the headline tells you all you need to know). Still I’m glad these stories are out there. Good news when a lot of what qualifies as news is downright depressing. What got my attention was the strange event that got Amish and English together in this community…

Rudy Gingerich Moving Sale at Hazleton, Iowa (19 Photos)

Rudy Gingerich Moving Sale at Hazleton, Iowa (19 Photos)

One of our readers, Carl Oliver, recently attended an event on this month’s Amish auction list. Many Amish-attended auctions are benefit sales–raising funds for medical needs, schools, and other community-wide causes. Others include estate sales, auctions run as a private business, or, as in today’s example, moving sales. You see, moving when you’re an Amish farmer is not as simple as cramming the contents of the house into…

When a son joins the Amish: The only treasure you can take to Heaven

When a son joins the Amish: The only treasure you can take to Heaven

Anne is back with a new piece on her recent visit to her Amish convert son Ed‘s community in Minnesota. When last we heard from Anne, she was describing why she felt like a wimp living Amish for a few days. One thing the Amish have in abundance is children. It’s no surprise when they say their children are the only treasure they can take along to…

Donald Kraybill on the Hate Crime Reversals (Plus Renegade Amish Winners)

Donald Kraybill on the Hate Crime Reversals (Plus Renegade Amish Winners)

Three weeks ago the beard-cutting hate crimes convictions were overturned by a federal appeals court in Ohio. Following part 1 of his look at the case, today Donald Kraybill shares some analysis of the case reversals, including why they happened, why they matter for future cases and what might happen next. Maybe not surprisingly for a legal argument, it turns out the reversal hinged on the interpretation of just…

Watch An Amish Barn Go Up – In 200 Seconds (Video)

Watch An Amish Barn Go Up – In 200 Seconds (Video)

I love this time-lapse video. It’s the best I’ve ever seen of its kind. Here you can observe 10 hours of barn-raising condensed down to about 200 seconds. This took place in LaRue, Ohio, which is the Kenton Amish community. The photographer’s wife gives the back story: My husband, Scott Miller, shot this video with a Canon 60d Camera using a Pixel TW-282/E3 Wireless remote…

Stan Wesner 1946-2014

My father passed away two weeks ago, having been diagnosed with mesothelioma back in March. Following surgery in July, we were hopeful, but shortly thereafter learned that the cancer had already spread, and there was little more to be done. We lost him a few weeks later, at home. When you read about mesothelioma, a rare, aggressive disease which comes from asbestos exposure, you learn it is…