Who loves rankings? (everyone loves rankings) – today I offer my personal top-five favorite Amish settlements. I hope you’ll indulge my self-indulgence for this one day (I’ve been wanting to do this post for a long time!). I haven’t been everywhere, but of the 17-or-so communities I’ve visited, these are the ones I would most readily revisit (and do when I can), and why. For…
I love hearing the Amish sing (and trying to hang with them, for that matter). There is something very moving about sitting in the midst of 150 upraised voices, all giving glory to the Maker. Those accustomed to musical accompaniment may find the drawn-out a capella hymnals tedious, but for me, they are eerily beautiful and uplifting. Sunday church gathering in Geauga County, Ohio Kraybill…
Many Amish families like to keep goats. Goats make nice pets. Some Amish raise goats to sell the meat. A few I met in northern Indiana sell them to Mexican and Arabic clientele, for example. Apparently goat’s meat is big in traditional Mexican and Arabic cooking. The Amish around Kalona, Iowa, like to milk them. A goat can make a great grass trimmer. Chain to…
From Amish Society, Fourth Edition: ‘…there are many myths about Amish foods. There is the legend of “seven sweets and seven sours” on Amish tables. The only place I have ever eaten seven sweets and sours is in a tourist hotel. The tourist industry has done well in capitalizing on myths, judging by the number of restaurants that cater to “Amish” foods. Advertised items such…
Kudos to Matthew for the link to a story about a Geauga County, Ohio man who joined the Amish in 2000. David Rapinz adopted the lifestyle around a decade ago. He met an Amish woman, Martha, who ‘took a chance on him before his baptism’, and later married her. Rapinz found beards, horses, and the Pennsylvania Dutch language all a bit unwieldy at first, but…
‘In 1847, nine families, all Bylers, moved to Lawrence, PA, they were: Solomon, Christian, Yost, Daniel, Noah, John, Reuben, Rudy, and Eli, and were among the first Amish in that section. In year 1880 bishop Crist (Christian) Byler walked from Lawrence County to the Valley. He traveled a distance of 250 miles in 4 days at the age of 68. He also made the trip…
Today marks a year since the Nickel Mines School shooting. Ten girls were shot. Five perished. Five lived on. A community was rocked by an unthinkable loss. The world watched and learned a rare lesson in forgiveness and grace. ‘The happening’ is the name local Amish attached to the event, and The Happening is author Harvey Yoder’s attempt to reconstruct, order, and make sense of…
The nine-year-old daughter of my friends ‘Aden’ and ‘Elizabeth’ invited me to visit her school last Monday. I couldn’t pass that up. Elizabeth and I walked up a few minutes beforehand; ‘Naomi’ was already there, so not to miss out on the half-hour of playtime before the first bell. A vigorous game of six-square was in session when we arrived. The kids let me join. …
Many people have seen photos of the fairly well-known ‘white-top buggy’ Amish. This group is based mainly in Pennsylvania’s diverse Big Valley region. They are most commonly known as the Nebraska Amish, named after a Nebraska-based bishop who helped the group get started in the late 1800s. Traditionally considered one of the most conservative Amish groups, they have also been called the “Old School Amish”….
I dropped in on Safety Days today, held at the Mount Hope Auction yards. Most of the hundreds in attendance were Amish. People slowly filed by educational booths promoting early learning, fire safety, and eye care. One fireman admonished listeners to ‘label their liquids’ since children could not tell the difference between potables and more lethal liquids such as kero or diesel. Besides the useful…