Time for the winners! Thanks to everyone who read the interview with Sherry Gore, author of Taste of Pinecraft: Glimpses of Sarasota, Florida’s Amish Culture and Kitchens.  What fun it was to get Sherry’s inside take on this unique community.  Also really enjoyed reading your comments and great questions. Before we roll out the winners, I asked Sherry if she could share a recipe and…
Sherry Gore is a national scribe for The Budget, editor of The Pinecraft Pauper, and columnist for the Amish magazine Ladies Journal. Sherry is also a mother of three residing in Sarasota, Florida, home to Pinecraft, a well-known community of Amish and Mennonites. Sherry has written an especially neat cookbook called Taste of Pinecraft: Glimpses of Sarasota, Florida’s Amish Culture and Kitchens, a tribute to…
Do Amish celebrate Halloween? While Amish do grow a lot of the pumpkins that become the Jack-o-Lanterns adorning homes across the nation today, the Amish themselves do not have a tradition of carving or displaying their own. The most you might see are some uncarved pumpkins and gourds festively arranged at some homes (though I suppose that could just as easily fall under the category…
It’s Friday, and a good day to clear the deck. Â Here are some news bits, updates, and mental flotsam from Amish America-land: Comments are now enabled on all Amish Online Encyclopedia entries. Â I held off on this earlier as I was figuring out the format. Â But no longer. Â Looking forward to hearing from you on AOE. We’ve got at least 4 more book giveaways…
I’m happy to share the Amish Way winners with you today. It was a lot of fun to run this contest and I much enjoyed the interview with authors Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher (if you missed it: Part 1 and Part 2). I particularly appreciated the point they make about shunning–that it is the “flip side to the community barn raising that…
“Brimming with many children,” write the authors of The Amish Way, “most Amish homes produce eight or more sets of dirty dishes three times a day. Â That means at least twenty-four glasses, dozens of plates, and countless pieces of silverware, not to mention pots, pans, mixing bowls, platters, and serving utensils.” Yet you won’t find an automatic dishwasher in any Amish home. For the Amish,…
I just returned from Lancaster County yesterday. This was my 3rd visit in the past half-year. The corn began coming down early this year, on account of the especially dry conditions. Otherwise, it was beautiful autumn weather and I enjoyed a couple of sunny days, until torrential downpours hit as I was leaving the County. Apparently there was a lot of flooding, which shut down…
Today we have a winner for the New York Amish book contest, and a short excerpt from the book. Thanks to all that participated.  Before announcing the winner I just wanted to let you know about our next giveaway. Amish Grace authors Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher have written a new book called The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World. The…
Plain publications help Amish maintain ties and promote Old Order Christian values Amish produce a number of newspapers, books, and other publications. Following is ordering information for three Amish resources: Family Life-a general-interest magazine from Pathway Publishers in Ontario The Budget-Sugarcreek, Ohio newspaper which covers both local news, and produces a “national edition” with letters from Amish scribes Raber’s Bookstore-an Ohio Amish-owned bookstore that carries…
Today, part 2 of the interview with professors Hurst and McConnell, on their new book on the Holmes County Amish, An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World’s Largest Amish Community. Â If you missed the first part, or would like to find out how to enter a drawing to win the book, check out Part 1 of the Amish Paradox interview. Today we…