If you were scanning a map of Kansas for places where Amish might be found, Yoder in Reno County would seem a logical guess, given how common that last name is among Amish today. And it’d be a good guess–the town itself was named after the son of an Amish bishop, Eli M. Yoder, who came to homestead here in 1870 (see GAMEO – Yoder). In 1886, the…
Loren and Dorcas Yoder are the owners of Silver Star Leather, located near Shipshewana in the northern Indiana Amish community. I first met Loren in 2006 while selling books in his area, and bumped into him again last summer through a mutual friend. It was a nice chance to visit with Loren again and see his growing business–like many Amish-owned companies housed in a small workshop sitting…
Reader Mike Atnip shares a panorama shot of the Meadow View Mill School Auction, which took place this past Saturday in Holmes County. Since panoramas don’t show up well here, I asked Mike to send me a large version that I could crop bits out of. First I split it into 3 chunks: Next, I zoomed in more, which gives you a better look at the…
We have a winner of the latest Name that Amish Community quiz, who got the right answers in yesterday evening just before the bell.  Well done to Linda, who wins a year’s subscription to Family Life magazine. For those curious, I wanted to explain the thinking behind the quiz and how you could have solved it (with a bit of work! 🙂 ). Since I suggested…
These photos of a pantry in an Amish home were taken in Carroll County, Tennessee. Reader Brenda shared these some time ago and I’m just now getting to them (thanks, Brenda). What time of year do you think these photos were taken? Â For that matter, when do pantries look their thinnest? I’ve rarely done anything but deplete them, so IÂ couldn’t pinpoint when exactly canned good…
It’s been awhile since the last “Name that Amish community” quiz, so I thought it’d be a good time to bring it back. This time to add to the fun, we have a prize. Below you’ll find three photos from three different Amish settlements. Your task is to guess where each was taken (in which community, not just the state). In addition to the clues you’ll…
In 2011 and 2012, a number of Kentucky Amishmen landed in jail for not carrying an SMV safety triangle on their buggies. This story got major news attention across the nation. State law was eventually altered to allow reflective tape instead of the triangle, thanks in part to 138 hand-written letters sent by an Amishman to Kentucky legislators. While the vast majority of Amish use the triangle, a…
Over a dozen Amish appeared in a central New York court last week to express displeasure over plans to build a casino in their community. “They could not imagine staying here with a casino,” explained their spokesman, Lynn Barbuto. What problem do the Amish have with the proposed gambling house? For one, traffic, which according to the article at 13wham.com (Update: article no longer online)Â would…
Maybe more than any other Amish place name, I’ve never had a clue how to pronounce “Chouteau” (Chah-toe? Shoh-two? Choo-tee-ow? 🙂 ).  Lucky for me, this is a blog, not a podcast. Why am I pondering pronunciation quirks again? Well, our busy contributor Tom Geist checks in today with a visit to the Chouteau, Oklahoma Amish settlement. Tom, I should say, gets around pretty well. Besides recent…
The good folks at Business Insider published an article yesterday entitled “13 Money Secrets From the Amish“.  I’m in it, and frankly that came as a surprise, since I hadn’t spoken to anyone at the site in some time. My contributions appear to be drawn from info shared 4 years ago, around the time my Amish business book came out. Lorilee Craker, author of Money Secrets of the Amish, also contributes…