The Watertown Daily Times has published comments from the father of the two girls abducted last week in upstate New York. Mose Miller has 14 children, and is one of the Heuvelton community‘s bishops. In an interview with Johnson Newspapers in their Heuvelton home on Sunday, the girls’ father — Mose Miller, 44 — said he feels “sorry” for the suspects. “It’s sad,” Mr. Miller said. “They…
Over a dozen Amish appeared in a central New York court last week to express displeasure over plans to build a casino in their community. “They could not imagine staying here with a casino,” explained their spokesman, Lynn Barbuto. What problem do the Amish have with the proposed gambling house? For one, traffic, which according to the article at 13wham.com (Update: article no longer online) would…
Since 1974, David Luthy has periodically released a directory of Amish communities appearing in Family Life, with updates appearing every 5 to 10 years (the last was in 2008). Writing in last July’s issue of Family Life, Luthy observes “with 62 counties in its 49,109 square miles, New York has in the past ten years become a popular state for Amish landseekers. Such, however, was…
Last month we had news that a Swartzentruber Amish settlement in Pennsylvania would likely be coming to an end, with residents heading to greener pastures. One of the destination communities for families in the distintegrating settlement was said to be the Swartzentruber outpost in St. Lawrence County, New York, part of the state’s “North Country”. St. Lawrence County due to its remoteness has so far stayed…
News came earlier this week that the long-running dispute between Amish and authorities in Morristown, New York, has come to an end. You might remember a post last spring on the Amish smoke alarm issue; if you viewed the PBS documentary The Amish you would have seen this case discussed. To review, Amish had refused to follow local building codes (updated by the town in 2006), arguing…
Do you recall the 12 Amish children orphaned last year when their parents died in a highway accident in New York? The Hershberger children were officially adopted this past Monday by an uncle and aunt from Ohio. From the story: The judge asked each soon-to-be parent and the older children if they wanted to move forward with the adoption: Are you willing “to create a…
Visiting Amish communities you might notice people living in a building meant for something else. Tom shares a little today about these “shop houses” along with a few photos from Angelica, NY: Says Tom: “In Conewango and other conservative settlements I visit young married Amish couples often build a shop house. This a very simple house that they can live in until they are able…
Tom shares a few photos from an Amish welding business in the settlement at Clyde, New York. Tom describes Schmucker Welding as a “Nice new shop with two very long power shafts and more belts that I have ever seen in one place.” Shafts and belts can be used to operate a variety of shop tools. But welding takes “real” power. Unlike other Amish-engineered tools,…
Not all Amish vaccinate their children, with concerns over safety, money and thwarting God’s will. Amish apparently also vaccinate their horses at a lower rate. Human vaccination has been a hot issue for many years. We don’t really think as much about animal vaccinations. However animal-borne diseases are a potential danger, and not just to a farmer’s bottom line. Officials in New York are trying…
Do you remember the controversy over busing Amish students in New York back in January? By a 6-0 vote, the Marathon school board has elected to offer the Amish “special busing”, which will apparently do enough to alleviate Amish concerns. To recap the Amish side: The Old Order Amish community in the hill towns around Marathon had sought separate busing for their children on a schedule…