I just got off the phone with an Amish friend, “Alvin”, from Holmes County. Â I like to call Alvin, a furniture maker, from time to time, to check up on things in Amish Ohio. The big news? Â March Madness, or I suppose the Plain equivalent, is apparently heading to Holmes County. I’ve written a number of times about Amish and sports. Â Sports and games are…
How active are Amish in mission work? As touched on in “So you want to join the Amish“, Amish have traditionally looked more inward than outward, focusing spiritual energies on their own rather than seeking converts. But that doesn’t mean they shun all mission-minded outreach. There has been historical interest in mission work within the Amish. The New Order Amish movement grew, in part, out of an…
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. Â Dauphin County is home to a sizeable Lancaster Amish daughter settlement. Taken near the aptly-named Plainville, New…
One of the highlights of President Obama’s State of the Union speech last night was a call for clean energy. The president put forth a goal: “by 2035, 80% of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources.” Â “Clean energy” in this case means “wind and solar…nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas”. To me, that sounds a bit ambitious. Â Solar currently accounts for less than…
I recently came across a few images of Amish-themed murals. Â 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. Â Maybe it’s just the element of the unexpected, in finding a massive piece of artwork outdoors. I also like how…
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…
Training for the 2014 Winter Olympics? Looks like this video was recorded in Knox County, Ohio (one county southwest of Holmes County). No SMV triangle, lights or storm front on this buggy. He even gets in a bit of a slalom at the end: Skiing is in fact popular with some Amish (primarily, but not only, youth), as is snowboarding. Â Lancaster County lies not too…
Reader Alyssa writes: I have one question about the Swartzentruber Amish: do they have assurance of salvation? To put it bluntly, do they have Jesus in their hearts in order to go to heaven? Are they true Christians? In fact, I think this is 2, or even 3 separate questions. Â I can take a shot at the first, though. Most Amish do not believe in…
The failure of A&M investments tests the Holmes County community A financial controversy has been playing out in the Holmes County, Ohio Amish settlement over the past few months. Â Amishman Monroe Beachy operated A&M Investments, a fund in which hundreds of locals, mainly Amish, invested money. One day early last summer, a sign appeared on the door of A&M Investments’ Sugarcreek office, reading simply: “Due…
Does the stork make home deliveries? Â For many Amish families, the answer is yes. Birth at home, or in Amish-oriented birthing centers, is preferred for a few reasons. Â They include cost, comfort, and closeness to family. Â Midwives, some licensed, and others not, often handle deliveries in lieu of a doctor. Midwives may be non-Amish, or in some cases come from within the Amish community. Â In…