Diversity among the Amish

Advice worth heeding

The lanes leading to the homes of Swartzentruber Amish are often pretty rough-looking.  They are usually dirt, with perhaps a few stones mixed in.  A dirt lane can be interesting after a downpour. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this type of warning.  I imagine the families who live on this farm in Ohio have had their share of mud-stuck vehicles. This reminded…

Blue doors, brown buggies: The Amish of New Wilmington, PA

‘In 1847, nine families, all Bylers, moved to Lawrence, PA, they were:  Solomon, Christian, Yost, Daniel, Noah, John, Reuben, Rudy, and Eli, and were among the first Amish in that section. In year 1880 bishop Crist (Christian) Byler walked from Lawrence County to the Valley.  He traveled a distance of 250 miles in 4 days at the age of 68.  He also made the trip…

Ohio’s “Nebraska” Amish (Andover, OH)

Many people have seen photos of the fairly well-known ‘white-top buggy’ Amish.  This group is based mainly in Pennsylvania’s diverse Big Valley region.  They are most commonly known as the Nebraska Amish, named after a Nebraska-based bishop who helped the group get started in the late 1800’s .  Referred to by Steven Nolt as ‘the most conservative of all Old Orders’, they are also called…

The peculiar ‘White’ Jonas Stutzman

The peculiar ‘White’ Jonas Stutzman

Sitting on the lawn around the firepit last week with some Amish friends, talk turned to ‘White’ Jonas Stutzman, who once lived just a few miles away.  Stutzman was one of the first Amish settlers in Holmes County.  He was also one of the oddest. photo:  behalt.com ‘White’ Jonas is portrayed in a local attraction, Behalt–a huge cycloramic painting of Anabaptist history, done about fifteen…

What really counts

I really enjoyed church service today.  This is the second weekend in a row I’ve gone with this group.  Church in any particular district is normally held bi-weekly, the two consecutive Sundays in this case being due to a special situation. Many Amish are conscious of the differences that exist among their own people.  I spent some time discussing this with church members today. Very…

Not that Winesburg

WHEN I was in college, I read a book by Sherwood Anderson called Winesburg, Ohio.  I remember it as a mostly downbeat collection of vignettes of small town life.  As I recall it was firmly entrenched in the university Lit canon.  Inspired Hemingway or something like that. This is not that Winesburg.  Anderson’s town was fictional. The real Winesburg, Ohio also happens to be a…

Back to Holmes County

My two-month excursion in Lancaster County is over.  I’m back in Ohio now. Lancaster was a fantastic experience but now that I’m back here, I’m reminding myself why Holmes County is perhaps my favorite of all Amish settlements. Holmes County is more diverse, (much) more rural, arguably a smidgen more beautiful, and I guess I just have known more people here for longer so that…

The two Lancaster Counties

An imaginary line runs through Lancaster County.  Some say it follows the route of highway 30, the old Philly artery which bisects the county.  This theoretical divider splits the settlement’s Amish into conservative and more progressive groupings. The north-south division may not be that cut-and-dry, but it is a real thing.  Some say a stricter Ordnung and less contact with outsiders tend to make southern…

Amish follicle facts

photo:  Randall Persing Amish women let their hair grow from birth. If you ever catch an Amish female with her hair down, the sheer length of it can be surprising. In fact, with locks often reaching well past waist-length, the typical Amish head-covering seems to somehow bend the laws of physics.  Where is their room for it all up there? A quick diversion: A follicle…