A heartwarming story out of Vernon County, Wisconsin. A man named Bill Markee had a special relationship with the local Amish community. They apparently felt similarly towards him, as you’ll see in this account (via news8000.com): “My dad was a unique individual who could carry a conversation with anybody,” said Mat Markee. Born in 1936, […]

Continue Reading Amish Community Fulfills Last Wish Of English Friend

Another year comes to a close. I hope yours was a good one. I’ll finish up 2022 with what I usually do – a look back at some favorite posts of the soon-to-conclude year. “Favorite” means well-commented or just generally liked by you (or me). I’ve listed these in no particular order, other than chronologically. […]

Continue Reading Favorite Posts of 2022 (And one piece of news)

As promised, following the look inside a plain Mennonite market, let’s check out the bakery. As you might recall this was found just next door to the market in the Snyder County, PA Stauffer Mennonite community (Port Trevorton area). We were met by the aroma of what I thought was apple cobbler as we exited […]

Continue Reading Visiting a Mennonite Bakery (16 Photos)

While in Lancaster County I took a trip with a friend and his son to an Old Order (horse-and-buggy) Mennonite community in the Buffalo Valley area of Pennsylvania. It’s about a two and a half hour drive and there had been inclement weather that day, which worsened as we headed further north. We did get […]

Continue Reading Visiting a Mennonite Market (21 Photos)

I just got back from a very Christmas-y week in Lancaster County. Christmas is in the air everywhere, even though it was warmish with not a ton of frozen precipitation (except for one morning). Amish families have been doing late-in-the-game shopping for Christmas presents, just like non-Amish people are this week, and some have already […]

Continue Reading Opening Christmas Gifts from Amish Friends (Video)

This video – of a vehicle rear-ending an Amish buggy – is worth checking out. Why? It’s the first I’ve ever seen of a buggy actually being hit. And it comes from an unexpected place – a sheriff deputy’s body camera as he was driving his vehicle. The incident took place in late October in Chautauqua […]

Continue Reading Video Shows (Distracted) Sheriff Deputy’s Vehicle Striking Amish Buggy

A potentially grim story with a happy ending in a Wisconsin Amish community. From WKOW: GRANT COUNTY (WKOW) — An Amish baby who was missing for two hours in Grant County Friday was found safe thanks to the help of a Good Samaritan. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office was first notified about the missing baby […]

Continue Reading Horse Bolts With Amish Baby In Buggy; Found 2 Hours Later

Yesterday we had a Q and A with John Esh of Goot Essa cheese (check it out here if you missed it).  And we’ve got the gift basket winner for you below. Thanks to everyone who entered! Goot Essa makes small batch cheeses and pairs them with items like apple butter spread, crackers, prosciutto, fudge and more […]

Continue Reading Goot Essa Gift Basket Winner

This is the video from my visit to Four Mile Furniture in Jackson County, Ohio. Owners Emery and Rachel Miller operate the store. When I stopped in, Emery was on his way out, but Rachel was able to give me a tour of the store. The visit was peppered with a number of surprises and […]

Continue Reading A Surprising Visit To an Amish Furniture Store (Video)

Goot Essa is an Amish cheese company based in central Pennsylvania, in business since 2001. They make a wide variety of cheeses (traditional cow dairy, goat, sheep) using milk from Amish farms. Founder John Esh shares more about Goot Essa and their cheeses in today’s Q & A. We first heard from John in a […]

Continue Reading Goot Essa Cheese: Q & A and Gift Basket Giveaway