I’m off to Indiana this morning. A few highlights of the past week in Ohio: Sitting with an Amish friend one afternoon, we made plans to take my truck up the road to visit his father. “Do you want me to drive?” asked my friend. I turned around and checked with his wife. “Can he drive?” “Well, he can” came her response. “I wasn’t asking…
A little while back I gave an interview for a newspaper column on Amish frugality. One example which I think captures the mindset (and which I wish I’d shared) was what happens at Amish schools in the summer time. What happens? Well, this: All that green stuff you see, that’s normally the schoolyard 8-9 months of the year. But rather than let the land lie…
It was a wonderful day in Holmes County yesterday. Early rain, which meant a lot of laundry under porches. But that went away in a hurry after noon. Here’s the proof:
Here’s a video of a singing taken in the Guthrie, Kentucky Amish community (thanks to Mike for passing it along). From the video commentary, the occasion was a funeral visitation – for an Amish man hit while driving a tractor. From the video description by Simon Kinsinger: 4/8/2010 At my uncle Sam Swareys funeral vistitation in Guthrie, Kentucky the Amish girls and youth sang this…
So I’m about to leave on a 10-day trip to Ohio and Indiana. I mentioned I’ll be attending Sunday School with friends. Sunday School is rare among Amish, seen mostly in New Order churches (and not even all of them). It is shorter than church service, about 90 minutes. While I appreciate Sunday School, I also enjoy what comes after – the fellowship meal. The…
Reader Stella shared some thoughts on the “Joining the Amish after 50” post: Perhaps I’m an unusual atheist but I’ve always admired the Amish philosophy and lifestyle, despite lacking the necessary Faith Trigger to join them. However, I was brought up by atheist parents and taught to respect all genuine engagements with life’s questions, religious or not. While I’m content with my atheism, as well…
Continuing our “Signs of an Amish Home” series, let’s have a look at milk cans. Milk cans seem to be another one of those quintessential symbols of the Amish–who else uses them nowadays? A few other Plain groups perhaps, but not many others. If you see them stacked up by the road or by the barn, that’s a sign of a likely Amish place, and…
The twelve Amish children left orphaned after the accident in upstate NY will be adopted. An Amish uncle and aunt from Ohio will be moving into the children’s home. From the report: The Ohio couple must sell a large home they built plus land in Fredericktown before they can relocate to Jasper, the patriarch said: he hopes the couple, who are in their early 30s…
On a recent post on Amish architecture, I shared some sure-fire ways of picking out Amish homes from the non-Amish. Some of those ways have become less sure-fire as Amish homes have come to resemble English ones. Rich Stevick helpfully added some other signs of Amish abodes, including the trampoline, loved by Amish children. Here’s a shot of one from the hilly Munfordville-Horse Cave, KY Amish…
Salvage grocery stores, aka “bent ‘n’ dent” shops, are common in Amish communities. They’re popular among Amish with many mouths to feed, and English bargain hunters as well. I’ve bought from them a number of times (hot sauce and other goodies). I just came across a 2008 article on Amish salvage stores (no longer online). By the author’s tone, she seems to want to cast suspicion…