One of the few places you might find an Amish person “behind the wheel” (see below) is at the various steam engine shows taking place in Amish areas. Today a reader shares photos from the annual event of the Northeast Indiana Steam and Gas Association, “a group of people who are interested in preserving and sharing…the engines, implements, crafts, and activities of America’s past.” This…
This is a question that comes up from time to time, most recently asked by reader Treva. The sense I get is that people: want to buy something culturally appropriate that the receiver will appreciate, and above all to not offend anyone with their gift. Getting a gift for an Amish person is not as tough as it might seem. I’ve put together a couple…
Sounds like the title of an off-beat Amish fiction series, doesn’t it? While these Camels of Lancaster County have not shown up in any novels I am aware of, they did make an appearance in the news article on Amish camel milk which we looked at last month. I don’t expect Amish camel farming to become a new focus of interest here, but since we’ve…
If you hadn’t heard, last weekend (two Saturdays ago) two Amish teenagers were shot in a bizarre incident in Ashtabula County, Ohio. The teens were picking up stereo equipment from a local English home where it was stored, as they had done numerous times before, when they were fired upon by the property owners. The teens were driven by an English person who was interviewed…
Reader Ed took these photos a couple of days ago in Lancaster County. Let’s just say both these signs would have me doing a double-take. First, Hershey Farm Restaurant & Motor Inn. “Is this the New Amish cuisine?” asks Ed. Yesterday, I got a follow-up email: “The Hershey Farm sign has been changed; the last line now reads “Elvis Burger”. Somehow I don’t find that reassuring,…
From the Decatur, Illinois Herald & Review: SULLIVAN — If something is worth inventing, it’s worth inventing again. Armed with that kind of reassurance, Sullivan entrepreneur Larry Yoder has gone ahead and reinvented the horseless carriage “because I had a ball doing it.” And it really is a carriage: He’s taken a former Amish buggy and built solar panels into the roof to feed batteries…
When we hit the dog days of summer, there are times I just feel like crawling into the freezer, closing the door and hanging out in there awhile (I guess I’d need a bigger freezer to make this dream happen). Home freezers are another one of those once-luxuries, now-conveniences which we use, really 24/7, but tend to take for granted. Not all Amish have such easy…
At last month’s Amish technology conference, I had a chance to meet Cory Anderson, one of the founders of a new publication called the Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies (JAPAS). I asked Cory a few questions about JAPAS, which you’ll find below. I have been enjoying the articles in the inaugural issue, which you can access online, for free, here. Amish America: How would…
On my latest visit to Indiana, a friend gave me an interesting document–an old booklet for Rockome Gardens, a long-running tourist destination featuring rock gardens, intricate stonework and other attractions, located in the Arthur, Illinois Amish settlement (2023 update – unfortunately, Rockome Gardens closed several years ago – but I still hope you’ll enjoy this look back in time!). The booklet is entitled “Your Visit…
Today we have another excerpt from an Amish father’s talk to a youth group and parents in Lancaster County. We last looked at this talk about a month ago, with a segment on cell phones and the internet (the first segment addressed popular music). In this excerpt the Amishman suggests how one might fight temptation and bad habits by developing character. As a whole, this talk…