Breaking Amish on TLC

Breaking Amish on TLC

A month back I wrote about the upcoming TLC series “Breaking Amish”. After viewing a promo and reading some coverage, I felt it sounded like an “Amish in the City” rehash, but with the obnoxious dial cranked to 11: Just when I think “Amish TV” might be cooling down, a new show pops up. I imagine at some point we’ll be seeing a full-fledged network…

Holmes County contrasts

Holmes County, Ohio is one of my favorite Amish communities to visit, in part due to the diversity of groups. There are four main Amish tribes here; adding up the sub-groups and spin-off affiliations you get more than double that. A short list of differences you’ll find among Holmes County Amish: Silent vs. spoken prayer Peeling paint vs. pristine walls Rubber vs. metal rims Singing…

John Stoltzfus on creating digital art

John Stoltzfus is a friend of mine and member of the Lebanon County, PA Amish community (you may recall reading his comments on this blog from time to time). Like any Old Order Amishman, John’s home is not wired, but he does have access to a computer via his job and neighbors, which isn’t commonplace but not too rare either. John also has an interesting…

PA Amish trip highlights

I’ve finally put together some trip highlights from Lancaster County. Today begins a new trip, a week-long journey across Indiana and Ohio.  Before we get into that, here’s what I liked from last week’s visit: Seven nights, four bonfires, two mountain pie feasts. Amish people like to burn stuff in the summer time. Mostly wood from what I can tell. It makes for a nice…

Amish watching and testifying in beard cutting trial

Amish watching and testifying in beard cutting trial

The big Amish news this week is the trial of 16 members of the Bergholz group, which opened in a Cleveland federal court Tuesday.  The accused are charged with hate crimes for their roles in the beard and hair-cutting attacks. Some face sentences of 20 years or more if convicted. Defendants have rejected plea bargain deals offering much shorter sentences, and have argued that their…

Dropped something

I’ve just gotten back from Lancaster County after what felt like 2 days in the car driving home yesterday (trucks can be bumpy on highways). I’m going to catch up on comments now and will be sharing more as I settle back into English America for a couple days here before the next trip begins. This photo of a friend of mine was taken a…

Do you know these 10 Amish terms?

Do you know these 10 Amish terms?

I’ll be posting some photos and more from my PA Amish trip when I can get back to a computer (this is another late night flashlight Kindle post, the easiest kind when you’re staying in an Amish home)…For now I thought a quiz would be fun. Do you know what these 10 Amish-related terms mean? Pretty much all of them have come up on this…

Amish: A Secret Life on BBC

Amish: A Secret Life on BBC

Amish: A Secret Life is a new BBC documentary following David and Miriam Lapp of Lancaster County. From the description on the BBC website: An intimate portrait of Amish family life and faith – this film opens up a world usually kept private. Miriam and David are Old Order Amish and photography is not permitted under the strict rules of the Amish church. So when…