We are about to turn the page on another year. How time flies. As we always do this time of year, a look back at some favorite posts from the past 365 days. Some of these posts were highly-viewed. Others generated good discussion and responses from you. They’re not all necessarily about happy topics (for example, the Rebekah Byler case, which is due to finally…
Here’s one for your New Year. Following the Amish Country Music Video post, some of you brought back to my attention videos by the Brandenberger family of northern Indiana. I had come across these some years ago but forgotten about them. I think at the time I wasn’t 100% sure if this was an Amish family – or more an “Amish-esque” one (eg, keeping Amish cultural…
Jim Halverson has checked in with another visit to Amish in Clare County, Michigan. This visit took place a few days before Christmas. There are two Amish communities in the county, one much larger than the other, and a third partially in the county. In addition to the snow-covered landscape you can see Jim also encountered some fresh snow on his visit. Like in this…
I asked Marlene Lehman about the Amish custom of circle letters. If you haven’t heard of the circle letter, it’s a delightfully old-fashioned way for Amish people (with some sort of connection – sometimes “deep”, sometimes based on coincidence) to stay connected across communities. A viewer on YouTube jokingly referred to the circle letter as “Amish group chat”. Marlene explains more in our talk,…
It’s not “goodbye” quite yet, but one Maine Amishman is soon closing down his – dare I say semi-famous – upscale meats-and-cheeses market. I call it “semi-famous” because Matthew Secich’s Charcuterie has been featured multiple times in newspaper articles. Part of the public interest has to do with his unusual background. Secich is a former big-city chef who joined the Amish in the Unity, Maine…
Just in time for Christmas! The newest issue of the Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities (Volume 5, Issue 1) is now released. It is chock full of goodies for your reading stocking, with articles and reviews on a great range of topics. Amish Relief & Development Work The dynamics of continuity and change in Plain communities are especially evident in the opening article by Joseph…
I chipped in ideas for a recent USA Today article challenging some of the wilder health claims you see out there about the Amish. This is the social media post they were responding to: I’m not sure why this particular post was chosen, as these sorts of claims are pretty commonplace. I imagine because it manages to put so many of the more common misbeliefs…
Reader Denise Joyal shares some nice photos from Amish stores in southern Iowa. Over 10,000 Amish live in Iowa, in around two dozen communities. Denise takes us to stores in two of those communities today. She has previously taken us to Amish stores in Buchanan County, Iowa as well as a look inside a $3 Amish Auction “Junk Box” in Hopkinton, Iowa. So I think…
So here’s a different spin on the words “Amish Country”. Making the news right now is this country music song “Slowly But Surely”, performed by a young Amish couple known simply as “Ben & Rose” (video at bottom). Now we’ve seen many Amish singing videos before – and even videos of Amish young people performing with instruments. But this is the first “music video” I’ve…
We’ve got a winner in the Goot Essa Cheese Assortment Giveaway. Before I share that, I just want to say a big thank you from both me and John, for all the wonderful comments that you left about the cheese, cheese cave post, and this site/email newsletter. We got about 200 comments on that post, and I tried to respond to as many as I…