If you’re thinking you’d like to join the Amish, odds are it’s the wrong decision. As we’ve discussed many times (see “If you left the English, what would you gain?“), there are too many challenges for most people to adopt an Amish life. Still, some kindle a desire to become Plain. Many are younger individuals. But sometimes it’s older adults. A few days ago Don…
Amish women let their hair grow, so they have a lot of it. Hair pins keep all those locks in place, up underneath a prayer covering. I thought I’d give you a look at some plain hair pins. I picked these up at an Amish dry goods shop (not for personal use, demonstration purposes only, ha-ha). They’re thick and sturdy, about 3 inches long, and…
Another home interior courtesy of Karen Johnson-Weiner. Today, an Amish bedroom and lamp in a progressive Michigan Amish home. This type of cabinet design typically holds a propane tank. These usually have wheels on the bottom making them easy to move about, with a holder for magazines, papers, or books. However if you look close you’ll notice that there is a curly Q type light…
The Amish home is changing When you visit Amish communities, can you pick out the Amish homes? As a general rule, the more conservative the community, the easier it is to tell the Amish dwellings from the English. The lack of power lines is one giveaway. So is the style and design. A Swartzentruber Amish farm home has a distinct angular look to it. The (often…
New York Amish have been in the news a lot lately. We’ve seen stories on vandalism against Amish in Steuben County, new stats showing NY Amish continuing their growth, and of course this week’s tragic accident in which five Amish were killed. The Amish who died in the van wreck also came from Steuben County–the Jasper/Woodhull settlement. The Jasper community, founded 1983, predates the recent…
Today we’ve got 6 winners of Ira Wagler’s Growing Up Amish. If you missed the original interview, in which Ira discusses Amish life, family relationships and how he ended up in Lancaster County, you can read it here: Growing Up Amish interview. Growing Up Amish winners I’ve tallied up all additional Facebook and blog entries. If you commented more than once in the comments section…
It’s been a terrible two weeks for Amish on the road. The Friday before last, a semi crashed into a carriage in Christian County, Kentucky, killing an Amish toddler. The driver was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence. The next day a van driver, apparently also inebriated, hit a horsecart in northern Indiana, killing a 12-year-old Amish boy. Now, five Amish have been…
Thar she blows! A nice photo of what looks like Lancaster folks* at the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone park. I’m pretty sure these guys are on vacation and not scouting settlement locations. Amish do take vacations, some more extravagant than others. Summer is upon us which means road trips. Though with gas up and the economy down maybe less than usual. This summer I…
How big is the Amish population? As of 2011, the total Amish population is 261,150, according to the latest estimates by the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. No new states made the list this year. So the total Amish tally remains at 28 states (and Ontario). I guess we’ll have to wait another year for that Hawaii Amish entry. It makes me…
Do Amish horses often lose shoes on the road? The reader who shares the photo below says yes: “Horses always leaving these behind. I ran over this one today, glad the nails were pointed down.” Farriers are the men in Amish settlements who shoe the community’s horses. You can read more and view photos in this report on a visit to an Amish farrier at…