Amish Communities

Swartzentruber valley

Byerik September 8, 2007September 22, 2016

Swartzentruber Amish farms in Holmes County, Ohio. More on the Swartzentruber Amish.

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Amish Culture

A few highlights from the past week

Byerik July 19, 2007December 12, 2013

I always seem to have neat things happen to me during the week as I’m working. I try to make a note of them for posts like this one. Last week I was treated to a rendition of the Noah’s Ark song (sung to the tune of ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’, by five sisters, ages fifteen to two. I’d heard the Amish sing from…

Amish Communities

Name that Amish community (quiz #3)

ByErik Wesner January 1, 2013

18 Comments

Al in KY recently reminded me of the photo quiz posts we did last year (wait, I guess I mean 2011, not quite last year anymore). He is right, it’s a nice time to do another. Below you’ll find three photos from three different Amish communities. Your clues: 1) Each is from a different geographical region of America 2) None is from the three largest Amish-population…

Amish Communities

Come take a ‘drive’ through a PA Amish community

Byerik April 24, 2008February 13, 2011

2 Comments

It might not be too clear in the photo, but in the New Wilmington, Pennsylvania Amish settlement, even the milk house doors get painted blue. Photo from late September 2007. And if you’d like to get a closer look at this community, Bill shares how, thanks to some lovely Google technology: PA 208 is available in “Street View” on Google maps. The Amish settlement runs…

Amish Communities

Amish Communities in Oklahoma

ByErik Wesner November 14, 2014November 14, 2014

12 Comments

There are just four Amish communities in Oklahoma, though two of them have formed since 2010. Oklahoma has had limited Amish settlement over the years. I believe that has something to do with the climate and farming conditions, which have hindered Amish attempts to settle the state in the past. Chouteau We virtually visited the Chouteau Amish community earlier this year thanks to the dash cam of Tom Geist. This is…

Amish Communities

Visiting Amish Businesses at Unity, Maine (8 Photos)

ByErik Wesner August 31, 2023October 25, 2023

10 Comments

Judy Stavisky, author of In Plain View: The Daily Lives of Amish Women, paid a visit recently to the Amish community at Unity, Maine, with stops at a pair of businesses. The Unity community has been featured here and in other media fairly often in the past. For example, here’s a look at some of the things that make Unity an atypical Amish community (which…

Amish Culture

Genetic conditions among Amish

Byerik May 19, 2007April 10, 2011

1 Comment

Siss im blut is PA Dutch for ‘it’s in the blood’. It’s often given as a reason when Amish and Mennonites talk about genetic problems in their midst. Amish and Mennonites have taken a practical approach to an unfortunate situation: a cramped gene pool causing numerous genetic disorders, often popping up with a frequency unseen outside their tight communities. Amish communities have accepted medical help…