Christy Otto is an Amishman living in the LaGrange-Elkhart County settlement in northern Indiana. He is known for his artwork. Being an artist and Amish is not the most common combination, but there are more and more people who can describe themselves that way. Christy has become quite well-known in Amish circles for his drawings and paintings. David Arment, who helped put this Q&A together,…
Two weeks ago we learned of the first group of Amish cited for not adhering to the new Ohio buggy light law. And now, a second unsurprising report from another part of the state. Amish in two other Ohio counties have been cited for failure to comply with the law: ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A new law requiring Amish buggies and other animal-drawn vehicles to be…
Joseph Yoder is an Amishman in the Arthur, Illinois community. He recently did an on-camera interview for news channel WCIA. This is the second part, you’ll find part 1 here if you missed it. In this segment, Joseph talks about getting into the furniture business and challenges the community faces with technology. He explains how it came about that he was able to begin carrying…
Lovina Eicher (who last month commemorated 20 years of writing columns) answers this question in a recent Amish Kitchen column. Lovina has covered this big meal logistics topic before. I like these columns because they quantify just how much goes into these larger meals and events like weddings and benefits. The occasion here was a grilled chicken and pulled pork benefit dinner for Lovina’s daughter…
Joseph Yoder is an Amishman who works in the furniture industry in the community at Arthur, Illinois. Local news station WCIA had the chance to do an on-camera interview with Joseph. They’ve released it in two parts. Joseph of course had to consent to do the interview on camera. Not too typical, but it sounds like he might wish to further public education about his people…
The Budget, published in Sugarcreek, Ohio since 1890, is a correspondence paper popular in Amish and Mennonite communities. This is one of the best articles I’ve seen on the paper, a fairly deep dive into how the Budget gets made, who reads it, what it covers, and more, by Sophie LeMay of thereportingproject.org. The intro: SUGARCREEK, Ohio – Of all print newspapers in the U.S.,…
There’s nothing surprising about this. Well, maybe it is surprising to Representatives Scott Wiggam and Darrell Kick, creators of the new law requiring flashing lights on all horse-drawn vehicles in the state of Ohio. But if they had bothered to actually dig deep into this issue regarding the group it would predictably most effect (Swartzentruber Amish), it might not be so surprising. My suspicion is…
In the above video I explain why Amish don’t want – or maybe the better word is “need” – outsiders to join them. In a nutshell, the Amish do not typically seek converts, and there are a few reasons why. 1. The Amish don’t need converts One very practical reason that they Amish don’t want you to join them is the fact that the…
So I haven’t ever seen a video like this before. In this remarkable recording, Bill Lyons filmed inside a building as it was being moved down the road to a new location by a bunch of Amish men and youth (around 150). If you’ve been around this site for awhile, you know I like to share the barn and building moves (an Amish specialty). Another…
The new Ohio law requiring flashing yellow lights on horse-drawn vehicles came into effect in September. And as predicted here months (and years) back, some Amish in the state are not complying. From Fox 8: ASHLAND, Ohio (WJW) – A new law that makes flashing yellow lights mandatory on Amish buggies, and other horse-drawn vehicles across the state, is now being enforced by a number…