Stephen B writes: While I certainly understand the idea behind Plain-ness, of not calling undue attention to one’s self out of modesty and of not wanting to be too much of this world, it seems to me that as times and fashions change, the Amish haven’t really updated their fashions enough to actually *stay* plain. That is, it was one thing, back when, to wear…
Michigan currently occupies sixth place when it comes to the size of their Amish population. Â The state is home to nearly 12,000 Amish in 3 dozen communities (see Young Center 2011 Amish statistics). Over one-tenth of the Michigan Amish population is found in St. Joseph County, in a settlement located near the town of Centreville. Â This group consisted of 11 Amish church districts as of…
We haven’t done one of these in awhile, so here are ten photos from the Adams County, Indiana Amish settlement. As you can see, it was a fairly grey day, so that didn’t help.  Which do you think came out best? If you enjoyed these, some other photos: 10 views of Lancaster County Amish 10 views of the northern Indiana (Elkhart-Lagrange) Amish 10 views of Allen…
Kentucky Amish SMV problems continue. If you missed it, on Saturday, a Graves County teenage buggy driver was cited for failure to display the SMV triangle after his buggy was hit and dragged into a ditch. Five children were in the carriage, ages 7 to 15 (Amish children operate horse-drawn vehicles from a young age). Â Luckily they were unhurt. It should also be noted…
We’ve seen Amish in court quite a bit lately.  Some cases have involved Amish clashing with laws of the state (KY SMV; PA horse neglect).  Others involve grievances between Amish and former Amish (Amish beard-cutting). For another example of the latter, we can look back in history to a 1947 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper piece  “‘Mited’ Amish Farmer Given $5,000 by Jury”, describing an unusual lawsuit…
Michigan Mary asks: What are the standard burial rituals for the Amish? Who/what digs their graves? Takes care of their cemeteries? We’ve hit on this topic on a couple of occasions, so I may just direct you to these previous posts: on the Amish funeral, and Amish cemetery. As to who digs graves, that would be other Amish, by hand using shovels. Members of the…
Giving new meaning to the term? From the Lagrange County IN Amish settlement. More on the Amish phone.
Thursday came and went, unsurprisingly, with no change in the stance of Amish in Graves County, KY over the SMV triangle. So another group of Amishmen were sent to jail yesterday (looks like 10 this time, though it’s a little unclear from reports), with sentences from 3 to 13 days. As with the Amishmen jailed last September, the men had refused to pay fines for failure to…
I have a favorite pair of shoes. They’re cold-weather hikers, originally waterproof but after a few years of use, not so much anymore. That’s not the problem, though, as apparently a tiny hole has appeared, somewhere, in the sole (where exactly, I haven’t been able to determine). Â However it lets enough water in that walking around on a rainy day or on wettish pavement soon…
Osiah Horst grew up in an Old Order Mennonite family in Canada. Â Osiah’s father Isaac wrote a column for a local newspaper which eventually grew into the book A Separate People: An Insider’s View of Old Order Mennonite Customs and Traditions, a witty and incisive look at Old Order Mennonite society. Isaac penned 2 dozen books and many columns, before passing away in 2008. Â Osiah…