About six weeks ago, I came across two Amish homes for sale in the community of Tripp, South Dakota (the only Amish location in the state). It seemed then that it might mean the Amish are leaving. Then just recently, I found a third Amish home for sale in the community. This is in an Amish settlement of just (an estimated) 55 people. Three homes…
A northern Indiana man will be secured behind bars for eight years following a December 2021 incident, in which he hit an Amish buggy with his Nissan and ran (“ran”, as in, drove off). As a result, people on area roads (both Amish & non-Amish) will travel a bit more safely now. The obvious reason for the uptick in safety is that this was the…
In this video, I answer some questions on the Amish and dating (or “courting”, though that’s not quite the same thing), thanks to info from Karen Johnson-Weiner’s book The Lives of Amish Women. I share a couple of excerpts from the book, which provide answers to the following: Can Amish girls ask boys out for dates? What do Amish feel is the purpose of courtship?…
In the video at bottom, I discuss three of the most common ways by which Amish light their homes. In short, they are: 1. Propane or natural gas lighting Here you see an example in the form of a propane-powered lamp. The propane tank is built into the furniture unit at bottom, and these typically are wheeled so they can easily be moved around a…
Very sad news from northern Michigan. Via 9and10news.com: Two children were killed and one other suffered serious injuries after an accident Monday morning involving a passenger vehicle and an Amish buggy, the Wexford County Sheriff’s Office said. The sheriff’s office said they received a call at 8:15 a.m. about a crash at East 16 Road and North 39 Road. According to a preliminary investigation, a…
In a recent article by Mary Swander, writing for the Iowa Capital Dispatch, she describes receiving an abruptly direct call from someone Amish. I found this of interest because it raises the question of whether the Amish could be described as more rude – or lacking manners – compared with your average Americans. And if so, why that might be. Here’s how it opens: “What…
I have to admit when I saw the headline of this story (“Driverless Amish buggy crashes in Watertown”), the first thing that came to mind were driverless cars. Had Amish in some under-the-radar settlement stealthily adopted battery-powered self-driving buggies when no one was looking? Some Amish absorb change faster than others…but that would be quite a leap. But of course, that’s not what this was….
As a low-tech group, how do the Amish cook and bake? Below I share several ways Amish prepare food (specifically, how they generate the heat for cooking & baking – if you’re looking for things like Amish recipes and food prep techniques, this is not that topic 🙂 ). As with many things, there can be a lot of variety in cooking methods across the…
This latest Amish home is found in a small community in Oklahoma, a state which has long had an Amish presence. This settlement is at Welch (Craig County), one of several small Amish locations in the Sooner State. This community was founded in 2010, and listed at just 80 residents, the departure of the family selling this home will represent a significant percentage drop in…
Here’s a nice recording by P. Thomas of a group of Amish youth singing the hymn “I Am On The Winning Side” somewhere in Ohio (I assume Holmes County). It’s been quite a while since I’ve shared an Amish singing video. This is a nice one for a return to the topic. This is a New Order group, who tend to be more open to…