Last week’s Lancaster County favorites post has been getting some nice suggestions. Lot of food places and Amish businesses, plus some rather off-the-beaten path recommendations like Amos Hoover’s library and the Lititz area. Lindsay asked if we could do the same for Elkhart and Lagrange Counties in Indiana (i.e. Shipshewana, Middlebury, and so on). I’d even open it up to nearby Nappanee, and for…
Lance shared a link to an interesting video on the Indiana Amish post this week. It’s an unusual look at a nominally Amish family in Indiana. It’s a bit confusing what’s going on, but this seems to be a born-again Christian family in transition away from an Amish lifestyle. The father, Elam Graber, is described as Old Order Amish and is certainly not camera-shy. He’s…
Indiana is home to America’s third-largest Amish population. Indiana Amish facts: Indiana has the most settlements founded in the 1800s (6), and the most communities over 10 church districts in size (5). Indiana has the largest Swiss Amish population. You’ll find Lancaster gray-topped buggies in two settlements in the state. Lancaster Amish first came in the 1990s. Amish in northern Indiana are heavily employed in…
The Connection is one of numerous new Amish periodicals Amish readers have enjoyed a variety of new publications over the past few years. One of my favorites is called The Connection. The Connection is published out of Topeka, Indiana, and features a variety of columns and articles written by Amish from around the country (as well as a few non-Amish). Two things that makes this…
I’m away from the computer for a couple of days, but have auto-posted some hat shop photos. The first is from the Nappanee, Indiana Amish community. Nappanee is the 3rd-largest Amish community in Indiana, and 6th-largest in the nation. There is also a small Old Order Mennonite community near Nappanee: You can see a few different styles here (notice the bottom row). And even more…
“We could probably build a better car than Detroit can. I will go out on a wing and say that. I honestly believe we could do that.” It’s not often you hear an Amishman make such a claim. But it almost makes sense–when you learn that the fellow who said this is from northern Indiana. Northern Indiana Amish are different than most Amish. At least…
…in case anyone doing last-minute filing might be wondering. (Tax day, by the way, has been extended from the traditional April 15 to April 18, because Washington DC celebrates Emancipation Day a day earlier than usual this year). Amish pay all taxes you and I do, but are exempt from Social Security. They do not collect from the system, though. However, in at least 2…
After regretting (on the original buggy sign post) that we had no Allen County, Indiana sign, reader Torey has kindly shared this photo, taken near the town of Grabill. You may be aware that Amish in Allen County are considered “Swiss Amish”. Swiss Amish differ in a few ways from most other Amish (most Amish are considered to be of “Pennsylvania German” ethnicity). Swiss Amish…
The familiar yellow buggy warning sign tells drivers “Amish ahead”. But there is no standardized design. So the signs you see can vary. Below, twelve examples of Amish buggy warning signs you’ll find across America – and one from outside our borders. From Dauphin County, near Elizabethville, Pennsylvania. Dauphin County is home to a sizeable Lancaster Amish daughter settlement. Taken near the aptly-named Plainville, New…
I recently came across a few images of Amish-themed murals. This first one is found on Bahia Vista boulevard in the Florida Amish community at Pinecraft, Sarasota. I’m not really an art person, but I usually enjoy murals when I meet them in my travels. Maybe it’s just the element of the unexpected, in finding a massive piece of artwork outdoors. I also like how…