Author Haley Straw returns today with part 2 of a new winter-themed series, drawing on one of her more challenging experiences as an Amish taxi driver. Part 1 is here if you missed it. Have you ever known—deep in your bones—that you should say no… and said yes anyway? That was me on the eve of Christmas Eve, standing outside the barn at our farm…
Hershberger’s Farm and Bakery is one of the best-known – and if you ask me, best – bakeries in the Holmes County, Ohio Amish community. Now, have I been to every last one? No, definitely not. But Hershberger’s has a lot going for it: Big selection of quality, tasty things (not only baked goods, but canned goods, produce, bulk items, cheese and more) A signature…
Amish in one community are putting their weight – and money – into efforts to make buggy travel safer for their people. In Seymour, Missouri, the “Main Street Overpass” project is heading to state officials for consideration, backed by local representatives along with the area’s considerable Amish population. The overpass would span a local highway, providing a safer route for Amish buggy traffic, among other…
Amish mothers in Aroostook County, Maine are among those who now face increased risks following the closure of a local hospital’s maternity unit – one of 11 to shut down in the past decade in the state. It’s true that many Amish mothers do give birth at home, with the help of midwives – often Amish women themselves, but also often not. That doesn’t mean…
Another short clip of a new song is out now from Ben & Rose. A nice simple video of the couple sitting with producer Conrad Fisher as they sing, while he plays guitar and also sings. The caption says simply “Ben and Rose rehearse an old hymn called ‘Tomorrow in Your Hands’“. I’m not able to find who wrote this one and when, but here…
It’s been awhile since we’ve had a good “Amish fun in the snow” video. So it seems apt that the arrival of the Big Winter Storm of 2026 would also bring us a good Amish-buggy-doing-snow-donuts video (at end of post). The person who filmed this, Casey Jones Springer, captioned it simply “Only in Tennessee”. While that’s not technically accurate (for instance, here’s a buggy snow…
Quick note from Erik: as you will see by the author attribution, this post is by Don Burke. Don has been contributing posts and photos for over ten years now, and I’m happy to say you’ll now be able to find Don’s past posts collected here. Look for more from Don in the coming days and weeks – he has some interesting ones coming up,…
An Amish taxi driver has been charged with DUI while he was transporting several Amish people, including two young Amish children, in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. On stopping the driver, 58-year-old Patrick Allen Reitz Jr., police discovered marijuana in the vehicle, in addition to a strong burnt marijuana smell. Here’s what happened according to the report at Explore Jefferson: According to a criminal complaint, the incident…
Let’s welcome author Haley Straw back today as she shares part one of a new winter-themed series, drawing on one of her more challenging experiences as an Amish taxi driver. We all have moments that redraw the maps of our lives. For me, it was driving the Amish through the Christmas break of 2022. It was a blur of 3:00 AM calls and whiteouts that…
Pocahontas County, West Virginia is home to a rather small Amish community of just a few dozen people. The Amish arrived here in 2023, and for the past two years have been running a market store that sounds like it has become quite popular in the area. Attesting to that, one patron writes: What a local treasure! This store has everything, from bulk dry goods…