Chances are you’ve heard of the recent attacks on Amish by now. Â Members of a small Ohio group have been entering Amish homes and cutting off men’s beards and men’s and women’s hair. Â Authorities have gotten involved and now there are serious charges–kidnapping and burglary–against the perpetrators. The group in question is located near the town of Bergholz in Jefferson County (this is a county…
The picture above was taken at an Amish farm in Hardin County, Ohio (we’ve mentioned this settlement already this summer, see the unusual buggy post). Can you guess what’s happening here? The family only does this once a  year.  Luckily, that was the day I stopped by! UPDATE: if you guessed apple butter, well done! See below in the comments for a bit more background…
Two weeks, 5 states, 15 communities. Five (plus) pounds. It was a whirlwind trip as I packed a month of visiting into 2 weeks of time. Â I spent the past weekend zonked out and resting up (3700 road miles will do that to you). But I’ve recovered enough to put together a collection of highlights from my recent Amish trip: Dessert at the home of…
If you’re near Hicksville, Ohio, tomorrow, you might want to drop in on the Defiance County fair for one of America’s rarest sporting events: I picked this flyer up at the Topeka auction house here in Indiana. Â I found the terms of the race pretty interesting–“a limit of five horses per race”; Â “all drivers must wear a helmet”; Â “any type of cart or buggy may…
I’m off to Indiana this morning. Â A few highlights of the past week in Ohio: Sitting with an Amish friend one afternoon, we made plans to take my truck up the road to visit his father. Â “Do you want me to drive?” asked my friend. Â I turned around and checked with his wife. Â “Can he drive?” Â “Well, he can” came her response. Â “I wasn’t asking…
A little while back I gave an interview for a newspaper column on Amish frugality. One example which I think captures the mindset (and which I wish I’d shared) was what happens at Amish schools in the summer time. Â What happens? Â Well, this: All that green stuff you see, that’s normally the schoolyard 8-9 months of the year. Â But rather than let the land lie…
It was a wonderful day in Holmes County yesterday. Â Early rain, which meant a lot of laundry under porches. Â But that went away in a hurry after noon. Â Here’s the proof:
I’ll be hitting the road for Holmes County, Ohio this weekend.  I’ve got plans to attend Sunday School with friends in a New Order Amish congregation. The rest of the week should be a lot of visiting and maybe even a side trip to an off-the-beaten-path community.  I have been on my “Rocky” diet, training hard and dropping weight this week in anticipation of putting it all…
Mary Brandenburg shares photos of a basement and washing machine from an Ohio Old Order Amish home. Basements in Amish homes typically have cinder block walls and cement floors. Â You’ll have a sink and an area to process food. Â You’ll also have a stove of some sort piping heat throughout the house in winter. Card tables for summer lunches and games like ping pong are…
The Amish home is changing When you visit Amish communities, can you pick out the Amish homes? As a general rule, the more conservative the community, the easier it is to tell the Amish dwellings from the English. The lack of power lines is one giveaway.  So is the style and design.  A Swartzentruber Amish farm home has a distinct angular look to it.  The (often…