The two sponsors of the new Ohio horse-drawn transport lighting law, state representatives Scott Wiggam and Darrell Kick, recently addressed the new stipulation that all horse-drawn transport have flashing lights affixed to the top of the vehicle: “The bottom line is, we believe fully that this will save lives,” Wiggam said. “The speed differential is just too great.” Kick agreed. “The objective is to reduce…
Realtor Amy Burns recently alerted me to this Amish home in the Geauga County community which just sold for $1,050,000. Now as we look inside you’ll see this is probably the most “un-Amish”-looking home we’ve covered here, and I suspect this home is going to surprise some people as being Amish-inhabited given its interior appearance in particular. A lot of the design aspects you’ll see…
While in Lancaster County last week, I took Amish friends out to run some errands. We made it to four stores in three hours, in addition to a stop at the bank and another brief stop. I made a video describing the trip and the places we went (at bottom). I’ll also list the places here. Here they are in order. Have you ever visited…
An unusual buggy accident happened last week in Missouri, involving an Amish woman and boy (via KTVO): ADAIR COUNTY, Mo. — A northeast Missouri woman and boy were injured Sunday evening in a terrifying accident. It was reported around 8 p.m. on Apache Way, about six miles southeast of Greentop. First responders told KTVO an Amish horse and buggy carrying a 28-year-old woman from Greentop…
Lindsay Ems has a new book out called Virtually Amish: Preserving Community at the Internet’s Margins. A portion was adapted for an article in Wired magazine. I’m looking forward to reading this book, but for now I’ll share a couple of excerpts. This first one suggests the etiquette of using higher tech like smartphones within the community. “If you’re going to use it, don’t rub…
I just returned from a week in the Lancaster County Amish community. While there I attended the 2022 Amish conference at Elizabethtown College, and spent a lot of time with Amish friends. I’ll have a post sharing some favorite images from the trip coming soon. I also recorded a short video from inside the buggy of a teenage son of one of my friends. It…
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine made the bill a law last week: COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill requiring Amish buggies and other animal-drawn vehicles to display a yellow flashing light while driving on public streets. House Bill 30, co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Darrell Kick of Loudonville, and Scott Wiggam, of Wooster, is intended to reduce the crashes between Amish buggies and…
This story won’t make this guy’s parents proud….and unfortunately it’s not an isolated incident in this community (Geauga County, Ohio). A 21-year-old Amish male struck a police cruiser while passed out drunk in a moving buggy. Here’s the gist of what happened May 14 via WKYC: The horse didn’t come to a stop and continued past the officer’s vehicle as it turned eastbound onto Hague…
We’ve seen a number of examples of Amish “shop homes”, but I believe this is the first “barn home” I’ve come across online. Here’s the key bit from the listing: “The barn and house were built as one unit, having the three bedroom home on the east side of this large building.” You can see the layout from the exterior photo here, with the home…
 As we enter the prime season for fresh produce, I thought this might be a good topic to address. I suspect most in the public would assume that Amish-grown food (and dairy) is organic, although that’s not really the case. There are certainly organic farmers among the Amish. And organic farming has grown in popularity over the past years and decades. However, the “default”…