According to the most recent figures, the community in Adams County, Indiana, centered around the town of Berne, remains the country’s fifth-largest, with over 11,000 Amish. This is really a sprawling community spread out across the wide expanses of flat Indiana farmland. I have visited here several times over the years, but don’t know it nearly as well as other communities in the state, like nearby…
An Amish community was founded at Rector, Arkansas back in 2009. Though it managed to attract a number of families (including a minister), it never grew very large, and eventually went extinct about five years later. Despite their rapid growth and many new communities being founded yearly, this happens to some Amish settlements – for various reasons. Don Burke paid a visit to the Rector…
Some very nice news came in since the Christy Otto book giveaway post went up. A reader who wishes to remain anonymous has very generously chosen to donate copies of one of Christy Otto’s books of artwork to the first 50 people who left comments on the previous Q&A post. Call it an early Christmas gift in appreciation to the readers here. Wow! Below you’ll…
This happened in the Geauga County Amish settlement, which is notorious for its wild youth and parties. The boy who lost his life early Sunday morning was 17-year-old Mark Slabaugh. It is described as an “Amish party” attended by around 200 people in this video report by WFMJ. Though he’s not identified as such anywhere that I can found, Slabaugh is a common Amish last…
Nine more Amish people in Ashland County, including two women, have been cited following citations for violating Ohio’s new flashing buggy light law. The nine pleaded “no contest” on Tuesday. Prison is already being discussed. From ashlandsource.com: Judge Good said he understands the argument. But he had a question for Mahlon J. Swartzentruber, who confirmed to Good on Tuesday that he is a leader within…
I run through my five favorite Amish sweet treats in this post. I am calling them “desserts” in the post title, but I guess one or two of them might not be technically desserts, though it’s arguable 🙂 I also share two that I’m not so fond of.  What are your favorite Amish desserts, baked goods, sweet treats? Let us know in the comments….
Disturbing story from Northwest Pennsylvania. Based on the description of where it happened, I would guess this is the Spartansburg community in Crawford County. This report is from the Meadville Tribune: ROME TOWNSHIP — Pennsylvania State Police at Corry want the public’s help in finding two men involved in pointing a pistol at a teenage girl last week. The incident took place along Fish Flats…
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…