Thanks to Mary for sharing the above photo of County Road 77 in Holmes County, Ohio. You might recall CR-77 mentioned in the comments section of the Amish buggy safety post of a couple weeks ago. Hurst and McConnell remind us that CR-77 is known locally as the “Amish roller coaster”, for its series of rolling hills. You can kind of get a sense of that…
A grab-bag of thoughts and stories for the weekend. Enjoy! Rhymemaster B “Full of action, traction and a lot of satisfaction.” So replied Amishman “Rhymie Aaron” when asked how he was feeling. “Rhymie Aaron” was the nickname of Aaron Beiler, who lived most his life in Lancaster County before passing away in 1964. I recently came across an article about him dating to last year. Sounds…
Reader Brett shares some photos of Amish in Western Kentucky. Graves County is home to a pair of settlements, one of which is a Swartzentruber Amish community. Kentucky Amish settlements range from Swartzentruber to New Order communities. Amish have moved into the state in large numbers in recent decades. In fact, all present Kentucky Amish settlements (except one) have been founded over the past 40…
Roselen’s Coffee & Delights 1045 E Columbia St Arthur, IL 61911 (217) 543-3106 In last Friday’s brain dump I mentioned Roselen’s Coffees and Delights, a drive-thru coffee shop in the Arthur, Illinois Amish community. Roselen’s is operated by Amish sisters Rose Plank and Lena Otto. I guess we can figure out where the shop’s name comes from (but why did poor Lena have to lose…
Just had a nice talk yesterday evening at the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center (home to the Behalt cyclorama) at Berlin in Holmes County. About 130 people attended, roughly 70% of whom were Amish. I explained that I was glad it was a non-violent, pacifist crowd. I figured that gave me a better chance of survival if I really messed something up in my talk….
Rick shares a pair of photos from a Dover, Delaware Amish auction. This first shot gives you an idea of what legroom is like in the back of a buggy. Anyone ridden in something like this before? Not too roomy. Rick also notes that the Dover buggies have a whip holder at the front, creating an unusual “antenna” look, which you’ll notice in the picture…
A reader in Canada has shared some photos and background on the small settlement located near the village of Springford in Ontario. The community consists of 4 church districts and was founded in 1954. It is apparently quite conservative, using outhouses and open-front buggies and oil lamps for lighting, and blankets used to keep warm in winter. One particular point of interest in this community,…
Thought this might be a nice out-of-season shot to share, on yet another snowy day in my neck of the woods (and maybe yours, too). Rick offers us a pic from Mercer County, Pennsylvania, near the hamlet of Jackson Center, an hour north of Pittsburgh. There are at present 3 Amish settlements in Mercer County, the oldest and largest settled in 1942, and having 5…
Orange County, Indiana Amish farm photo courtesy of Cindy Seigle. Wintry weather means staying inside, mostly. Is this farmers’ favorite time of year?
Just back from Lancaster County. Has been a whirlwind of finishing the final manuscript (submitted), looking ahead to finish the Polish-language Amish book (nearly done), and another top-secret project or two. But in between running around the County a few interesting happenings happened. I dragged my father up this time, for an intense week in Amish Boot Camp. When you are accustomed to the accoutrements…