Visiting a Kansas Amish community (21 Photos)

Visiting a Kansas Amish community (21 Photos)

We’ve got another collection of Don Burke photos for you today – this batch from the Amish community at Chetopa, Kansas (Labette County). We don’t talk too often about the Amish in the Sunflower State, but they have a solid and long-running presence there. In fact, several of the oldest Amish communities are in the state (namely the Haven/Yoder, Hutchinson, and Garnett communities). Chetopa is…

Inside an Amish Buggy (How it works – Video)
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Inside an Amish Buggy (How it works – Video)

While in Lancaster County last month, I had the chance to film inside the buggy of a friend’s son (16 years old). He helpfully explained the controls and other elements of the buggy (useful for an English non-buggy-driver) so I could better explain them to you. In this video I give you a look at what all the knobs and other things in the buggy…

Another day in the life of an Amish mother

In her weekly column, Amish mother Lovina Eicher from time to time shares an hour-by-hour look into her daily life. We saw this in both 2018 and 2020. One change I noticed between those two accounts is that Lovina’s wake-up time “improved” from 3 AM to 4 AM. I think that reflects a change in the work schedule of the working men in her household…

Dennis L. Hughes Amish Photo Exhibition (Lancaster County & More)

Dennis L. Hughes Amish Photo Exhibition (Lancaster County & More)

Last year we noted an exhibition of photographs by Dennis L. Hughes, who captured thousands of images of Amish life. This exhibition, at Elizabethtown College (Lancaster County, PA) has returned, and is currently running until August 4th. If you’d like to view the collection here’s more on how to do that, along with a link to the online exhibition: Amish Life in Focus: The Dennis…

Amish Dating: Are Marriages Arranged?

Amish Dating: Are Marriages Arranged?

 A viewer recently asked if Amish marriages are arranged on the Amish America YouTube channel. And the answer to that is a definitive “no”. Odds are you already knew the answer to this one. But I can kind of see where the question might come from – when looking at this religious society, which certainly must appear “strict” to some, from the outside. The…

Inside A Very Plain Ontario Amish Home (26 Photos)

Inside A Very Plain Ontario Amish Home (26 Photos)

This is the first Amish home I’ve seen listed online for sale in Canada. Amish have had a presence in Canada for nearly 200 years, the vast amount of that time only being found in Ontario. In recent years they’ve settled in three other provinces. From what I can tell this home is found in Huron County, in what would be known as the Lucknow…

Are Amish immune from high gas prices? 5 Reasons why the answer is “No”

Are Amish immune from high gas prices? 5 Reasons why the answer is “No”

Often when people look at the Amish – a horse-and-buggy people, after all – they assume they’re dodging the pain of high gas prices. But is that really the case? First, there was recently a humorous column by Star Beacon writer Shelley Terry “Hubby going Amish due to rising gas prices“, which illustrates this view well. An excerpt: When gas hit $5.09 a gallon, Hubby…

The North Carolina Swartzentruber Amish Community Has Grown (15 Images)

The North Carolina Swartzentruber Amish Community Has Grown (15 Images)

On Saturday my brother and I paid another visit to the Swartzentruber Amish settlement in western NC (the area of Polkville & Ellenboro). I am happy to report that the community is up to 22 households, up from around 14 in late 2019. At that time I had been informed a couple of families had moved away, and wondered if that signaled a declining trend….

Are the Amish “born again”? (Video)

Are the Amish “born again”? (Video)

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ~John 3:3 (KJV) This question has come up a lot over the years and has been addressed here before (see this post from 11 years ago titled Are Swartzentruber Amish “saved”?), so I did a video on it as well….

20 Images From Lancaster County

20 Images From Lancaster County

I collected some images from the recent week I spent in Lancaster County. Presented with some comments below, I hope you enjoy. First, a few signs. Eggs 4 Sale. Amish Road. And yes, Amish people live on it. There is also an Amishtown Road in the county. This motel is located in Denver. Maybe you didn’t know Denver is in Pennsylvania. This photo combines two…