If you’ve followed my stops through the Somerset County, Pennsylvania Amish settlement these past several months – starting at the charming backroad bakery, stopping in at the tiny farm stand, and on to the hidden variety store – we now come to the final Amish business I visited on this wintry mid-December day. And I actually went one state over to reach it. That sounds…
In early March, an Amish man named Jason Yoder, age 30, was killed in a chain-reaction crash on a Holmes County, Ohio highway while riding an e-bike. The accident – which also left a Good Samaritan in critical condition – has put the spotlight back on safety concerns over the e-bike. As we’ve covered before, e-bikes have skyrocketed in popularity among Amish in the Holmes…
This year will mark the 20th anniversary of the Nickel Mines school shootings, in which five Amish girls were killed, and another five wounded (with a sixth girl passing away years later due to long-term effects of her injuries). BBC Radio 4 has done a program looking back at the incident, and including comments from the shooter Charlie Roberts’ wife, and how she endured the…
An Amish buggy horse lost its life. But fortunately no people were hurt. It’s a sad case and raises some questions. But I suppose the people involved also have to count their blessings, for it could have been far worse. This incident happened in Gallia County, Ohio on Friday evening. First, from the report at WTAP: RIO GRANDE, Ohio (WTAP) — The Ohio State Highway…
A new report draws attention to a study which found that over 46% of crashes in the study set were caused by “motor vehicle driver error.” Update: That is in all likelihood under-reporting the percentage, as Walter Boomsma points out in the first comment below. Headline has been accordingly updated, and hat-tip to Walter, who notes that when only considering the crashes where causes have…
Ben and Rose have released a song in time for Easter. This is a more contemporary tune, called “Mighty to Save”, originally written and performed by members of Hillsong Church. The description reads: “Ben & Rose sing “Mighty to Save” written by Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan celebrating Resurrection Day!” This one has a bit different feel to it. It kicks off with some nice…
Here we have an “ultra-basic” Amish home in the Swartzentruber community at Cynthiana, Kentucky (Harrison County). It’s a small, very plain Amish community of under 100 people, and it looks like one of the families here is selling their home and moving away. As in a lot of cases, in these smaller communities Amish will list their homes in hopes of attracting a non-Amish buyer….
If you’re a birder in Ohio, this might qualify as the most exciting thing you’ve heard all week. I’m not a birder, but I still find this story neat – for a few reasons. First, what is a sage thrasher? What was it doing all the way in Ohio, when its habitat is much further west (think Colorado, Utah, Wyoming)? And what is it about…
Sam Shetler of Mercy and Truth retreat made his first court appearance Tuesday. The Amish man who led the Cooper County, Missouri retreat center was arrested March 25th, and faces charges of trafficking and sodomy. Shetler appeared by video feed, with a number of attendees including Amish people in the courtroom. In this appearance, we learn that Shetler does not yet have a lawyer. He…
The first person on the scene of last week’s explosion and fire at a Pennsylvania Amish school gives an account of what she found. We also get an update on how the girls are doing. Here’s the latest from yourerie.com: Kelsey Bova was the first on scene after a fire broke out at the Hidden View Amish School in Sparta Township last week. When she…