Tamara asked this question a couple of days ago. As she suggested, it seems like a pretty good topic. In fact, Tamara’s exact question was: “Has anyone had a very close relationship with someone who was a “member in good standing” in the Amish church?” Keith James has already shared a bit about a friend of his, an Amish bishop. Keith writes: He was 46…
Commenting on a post last week, Donna Godfrey recommended reading books by Donald Kraybill. I’d second that. The Riddle of Amish Culture was one of the first I read and I think essential to understanding the Amish. The very first book I read on the Amish was Amish Society by John Hostetler, another good one, first published in 1963 and going through a number of…
A full one-third of Delaware’s counties have Amish settlements. Okay, Delaware only has three counties (yep, that kind of sounds like a joke you’d hear an Amish guy make). Delaware’s sole Amish settlement nestles against state capital Dover. Amish have been here almost 100 years. It’s a decent-sized community, actually: 9 church districts, over 1000 people. Amish have been leaving though. Land is expensive next…
Not a 100% Amish story, but interesting nonetheless. Willy Ropp was raised Amish in Missouri and has gone on to become a champion bullrider. In an interview with ABC Australia, Willy discusses his Amish upbringing for about the first 6-8 minutes, including what life was like growing up the youngest of 12 children, how he first became interested in bullriding (sneaking away to watch the…
From a Lancaster friend’s home: Sharpening minds and no. 2’s: Sigh. I remember spending a bit more time with these, once: Here’s the full list of Amish home interior photos.
Here on the blog and on the Amish America Facebook page, some of you have been bringing up the court decision in Kentucky on Slow-Moving-Vehicle (SMV) triangles. The SMV triangle has become iconic of the Amish and the vast majority of them willingly display them on their carriages. However, some of the “lower” groups (in particular the Swartzentruber Amish and a few others) refuse to…
Are you a “quilt person”? I’ve slept under them, written about the people who make them, and watched them go up for auction. But I have to admit, I’ve probably under-appreciated Amish quilts, and quilts in general for that matter. Lately that has begun to change. I’ve got a section on quilts in an upcoming book. That led me to learn a bit more about…
A couple of heart-breaking stories this week. An 11-month-old Amish baby died (article removed) late Sunday night when it fell from a moving buggy in Missouri. The person holding it had fallen asleep. Yesterday morning, an Amish woman in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, succumbed to serious burns suffered in a home explosion. She had thrown kerosene on a fire to get it burning better. The regularity…
A picture in need of a caption. Taken outside of Shartlesville, Berks County, Pennsylvania. I’m still not sure–would meeting this pair make me smile…or give me nightmares? Either way, one more reason to love America. Photo credit: Colin Grey
Amish housewives have quite the workload. They do get some help in managing the household, though. Amish homes often feature modified appliances, built to run on power sources other than public electricity. Depending on what is allowed in a given church, you might see an air-powered mixer, or gas-powered refrigerator. Wringer-style washing machines are common. The most conservative Amish groups use only minimal technology though….