The Young Center of Elizabethtown College has just released annual Amish population estimates. The big news: over the past year Amish settled two states with no existing communities. Wyoming I had heard about Amish heading to Wyoming late last summer. I’m told the new community has ties with Amish in southern Wisconsin. At around half a million people, Wyoming is America’s least-populated state, but one…
Good news for Amish drivers in southern Indiana. The Amish settlement in Daviess County will be getting buggy lanes on one major road. The Odon-Cannelburg road runs north-south through the middle of this community. The road, also known as County Road 900 E, is a major economic artery with Amish buggies, semi’s, cars, and all types of motorized transportation sharing the road, with sometimes disastrous results. The…
Rules of a Godly Life is a concise devotional read by Amish. Last week we looked at what it has to say on speaking evil. I thought I’d share another today. This is rule #11, from Section 3 (“Works”): Practice modesty in the wearing of clothes, and have nothing to do with pomp and luxury in raiment. It is great vanity to spend as much…
Home Cookin’ is a regular feature in The Connection magazine. Each month Home Cookin’ serves up four recipes from Amish ladies from different communities. The August 2011 issue, for example, features recipes from the Adams County, Indiana settlement. I find I almost like the names of some of these Amish dishes as much as the dishes themselves. Adams County mother of four Sovilla offers up…
This is an accident the media will call “freak”, and Amish will simply call God’s will. Yesterday an Amish woman picking berries in Pennsylvania woods was struck by lightning as she sheltered under a pine tree. Yesterday was also the woman’s due date; the baby she was carrying died with her. The woman’s husband and two children, who took shelter under a different tree, were…
Love these photos today. This is oat threshing in the Amish community at Carroll County, Tennessee. You hear it pronounced “thrashing” as well. For some time I thought that was the official spelling. But I think that might just be the Amish accent (I’m actually partial to “thrashing”). These photos were taken by Brenda, who previously brought us scenes from a laundry day in the same…
Tonya Clifford shares a batch of photos today from Ethridge, Tennessee.
Rules of a Godly Life is a devotional found among Amish. It’s a small booklet consisting of three parts. You can access it in its entirety here, where it was included to accompany the PBS Amish film. You can also get it at places like Gordonville Book Store or Raber’s in Ohio for a dollar or two. The PBS site describes it as such: “Rules…
I am speaking with someone shortly for a story on use of the Amish name to sell products. I’ve found this a topic people react strongly to. Doing anything involving the Amish name to make a buck is obviously exploiting them, after all. I’ve also found that with reflection some see it differently. There are a number of topics like this, where there is sort…
Tom shares a few photos from an Amish welding business in the settlement at Clyde, New York. Tom describes Schmucker Welding as a “Nice new shop with two very long power shafts and more belts that I have ever seen in one place.” Shafts and belts can be used to operate a variety of shop tools. But welding takes “real” power. Unlike other Amish-engineered tools,…