Reader Brad of the Brethren recently raised the question of common ownership of goods among the Amish. Amish are not like Hutterites where the vast majority of property is shared in common. Amish individuals own private property like anyone else. Amish households operate independently in a commercial sense, though within a web of church and community support galvanized in times of need. But what about the handful of…
Kite Kommotion is an annual event in the town of Shipshewana in the Elkhart-Lagrange Amish settlement. From the event description: “Folks can take advantage of flying their own kites or watching performances by international kite teams and professional kite exhibitions.” A reader shares photos from the event’s latest edition. I guess these photos speak for themselves. Lots of kites, lots of kommotion. As you can…
Anna J. Weaver is an Amish artist living in New York state. If “artist” doesn’t strike you as a typical Amish occupation, that’s because it’s not–at least not in the classic sense of someone who creates painting, sculpture and the like. By the sound of things, however, Anna has made a pretty decent go of it as a painter. From a recent profile in the Erie Times-News:…
Health officials in eastern Ohio are grappling with a measles outbreak, the largest in the US since 1996, linked to an Amish mission trip to the Phillippines. From The Coshocton Tribune: Sixteen confirmed cases of the highly contagious disease have showed up near the Knox County village of Danville, less than 35 miles west of Coshocton County. Four members of an Amish community there recently traveled to the…
Do “classes” exist in Amish society? How is wealth distributed? Do Amish use food stamps? A new study in the latest JAPAS addresses these questions in the Holmes County Amish community (“Amish Economic Transformations: New Forms of Income and Wealth Distribution in a Traditionally “Flat” Community“, by Amyaz Moledina, David McConnell, Stephanie Sugars, and Bailey Connor). By tapping public data including Census info and real estate records, the authors develop a picture of Amish income and…
Too often, we hear stories of criminals seeking out Amish victims. Their crimes include: Burglary when homeowners are known to be absent (eg, Sunday morning) Swiping cash from roadside stands (both manned and unmanned) Assault and robbery Last Thursday, Amish once again fell prey to wrongdoers, this time in Lawrence County, Tennessee. One woman has been captured, and two more suspects are being sought, following what…
Somewhat confusingly, the words “Nebraska Amish” often refer to the “white-topper” group of Pennsylvania and Ohio which bears that name–legacy of an associated bishop and early church members from the Cornhusker State. Less is heard about the small population of Amish who actually live in Nebraska. Amish America contributor Tom Geist today shares his visits to the handful of communities in the state. Verdigre #1 The…
File this one under “Not A Spoof”. Chad Adams, a police sergeant for Pulaski Township in Western PA, recently spent time walking local roads dressed as an Amish woman. Why would he do such a thing, you’re surely wondering? The department was trying to catch a man who had been exposing himself to Amish children walking home from school. Adams was accompanied by a female officer…
Last month, contributor Don Burke gave us a look at the Kalona, Iowa Amish settlement. Don returns today with a selection of photos from the Jamesport, Missouri Amish community. At eight church districts, Jamesport (Daviess County) is the third-largest of Missouri’s three dozen+ Amish settlements, smaller than only Seymour (Webster County) and Clark (Audrain/Monroe/Randolph County). Founded in 1953, only the Bowling Green community is older among the Show-Me State’s…
2017 UPDATE: This year’s two editions of the Honeyville Quilt Auction will be held Saturday, April 8, and Saturday, September 16. The first Honeyville Quilt Auction of 2014 takes place tomorrow (Saturday April 12th) in the Elkhart-Lagrange, Indiana Amish settlement. We usually post auction photos taken during the event. Today is a little different, with a pile of pre-auction pictures showing all the neat things…