The Amish community at Kalona, Iowa is the ninth-oldest, having been founded in 1846 by Amish from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. By what we see in the first photo below, that would predate the founding of the town itself by over 30 years. This community permits a relatively high level of technology in the Amish world, including tractors used for field work. There is a…
Bonnet Strings: An Amish Woman’s Ties to Two Worlds is the new memoir by Saloma Miller Furlong. You might know Saloma from her blog, previous book Why I Left the Amish, or more recently, from the PBS film The Amish: Shunned. In today’s interview, Saloma discusses topics including Bonnet Strings, her former community, and The Amish: Shunned. Bonnet Strings 2-Book Giveaway Saloma and Herald Press are…
Following our look at Adams County Amish household items, some photos illustrating life around this traditional Swiss Amish community. The Adams County settlement is the fifth largest of all, with around 8,000 Amish residents. A special thanks to our contributor who shares comments in addition to his photos below. We typically see these types of water coolers inside the house, providing the family with drinking…
Actually, it’s a “workshop and equipment shed” raising, but that’s not quite as catchy, is it? Either way, the Amish of Union Grove, North Carolina have been busy on a construction project the past few days. The proprietors of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, a business which sells specialty beef and pork near Asheville, opted for the services of the state’s only Amish community, hiring a…
Two works of historical fiction based on the story of Jacob Hochstetler have hit bookshelves over the past month. The first, Jacob’s Choice by Ervin Stutzman, we heard about a few weeks ago. Today we have a Q & A with Bob Hostetler and J.M. Hochstetler, authors of Northkill. Northkill Giveaway Two copies of Northkill are available for Amish America readers to win. To enter, just leave…
Lancaster County’s mud sales are in swing, with Bart Township Fire Company holding its event this past Saturday. One of our readers, Lauren Futch, attended, and shares some photos. The comments below are hers as well. Thanks Lauren! Outside auction activities. The quilt auction sold over 300 quilts throughout the day. The 50th anniversary quilt. I believe it sold for around $1,000. …
You may ask me, “Is this a typical Amish shop?” Good question. Let me explain why. Another shop ten miles from here might be run totally with a generator, and contain a computerized CNC machine to work with cutsheets drawn up on a word processor. And a third shop, the same distance away, might not have one bit of electrical equipment anywhere, down to the…
There’s another Plain program on the airwaves, but this one isn’t about the Amish. National Geographic Channel’s Mennonite Made (despite the name, not a response to Amish Mafia) is about building things–log homes, to be precise. From the Nat Geo website: Mennonite Made follows a tight-knit crew of traditional Mennonites, who practice craftsmanship passed down through generations to build one-of-a-kind log homes. Spearheading the log home…
The photos below show some typical items used in the Adams County, Indiana Amish community. The Amish of Adams County are considered “lower” or more traditional than many other groups. These photos were taken in a local shop. This first photo shows a common style of oil lamp, the form of lighting used in this community. Our contributor notes that pink is also a common…
It’s Friday, and I think we’re due for another roundup post. Here we go: The Plain Side Loren Beachy writes a column for The Goshen News called “The Plain Side”. Loren is a school teacher and auctioneer living in the Elkhart-Lagrange Amish community. I’ve been reading some of Loren’s archives lately, including one on preserving the PA Dutch dialect and a funny tale about his…