“Why are the Amish using plastic packaging? I am so disappointed.” That is a comment someone left on the recent video on the Amish popcorn shop. Lot of plastic packaging in that shop, like in any Amish-owned store that sells food (or other products for that matter). I find this expression of disapproval interesting for a few reasons. I think it reveals a few…
This is a neat story from earlier in the summer I didn’t get around to posting. An Amish couple in Somerset County, PA, agreed to be interviewed and photographed for a story on purple martins. These are the birds every Amish farmer wants to have around. They eat pesky insects, lots of them, and are valued for that. Purple martin houses are common on Amish…
This past June I visited Emma’s Gourmet Popcorn in Lancaster County. I recorded this video showing the different flavors they sell (apparently 60 of them). I didn’t realize there were so many flavors of popcorn; you’ll see my surprise at some of the unexpected tastes I find in the shop. As I’m recording you’ll hear the banter of some Amish friends and store workers in…
We’ve got a winner of In Plain View: The Daily Lives of Amish Women by Judy Stavisky today. If you didn’t catch last week’s Q&A with Judy, you can find that here. She has done a nice job of answering a number of your questions in the comments there. But first here’s an excerpt of the book, courtesy of Herald Press. This is from pages…
Jim Halverson recently visited the Kalona, Iowa Amish community. We’ll have some photo sets from this visit to Iowa’s largest Amish community. Here’s the first one, from the local produce auction. Jim first visited the Kalona Creamery where he talked to an Amish girl working there: The girl at the Creamery directed us to a nearby produce auction. They were auctioning off palettes of great…
For years now, Judy Stavisky has been driving and accompanying Amish women on shopping trips, building friendships with them and learning firsthand about their lives. Judy has compiled her experiences and insights in a new book called In Plain View: The Daily Lives of Amish Women. Here’s the description via Herald Press: What does the life of an Amish woman really look like? Over the…
In a new column by Amish Cook columnist Gloria Yoder, she recalls some painful “firsts” she has lately gone through without her husband Daniel, who died tragically in a logging accident in April. I found this column particularly moving…for anyone who has lost a close loved one you’ll probably recognize the sentiment here. An excerpt: Those who have bid farewell to life on earth with…
In this video (video & full transcript below) I give the origins of the Anabaptist movement in brief, and describe how the Amish emerged from that movement at the end of the 17th century. I also explain who Jakob Ammann and Menno Simons were. Contrary to what some might suppose, the two never crossed paths, with Ammann arriving on the scene around 150 years after…
Here is a literal feel-good story. Amish teen Daniel Troyer (of Jamesport, MO) needs a heart transplant. His condition (cardiomyopathy) had made it difficult for him to do even basic tasks like eating. He still needs a transplant – but a special implant has given him new energy and hope. From KCTV 5: At 17-years old, Daniel Troyer suffers from cardiomyopathy. His heart is dying….
Some Amish have a neat thing they do when they need to move a structure like a pole barn. They marshall the community’s arms and legs and, deploying a bit of sweat and maybe a few tears, they simply pick up the structure in unison and carry it to wherever it needs to be. We’ve seen this in video versions on several occasions. Now, columnist…