My friend Mose Smucker was in the news over the weekend. Mose is an Amish father of 8 (and grandfather of more) who currently runs a meat shop and sandwich stand at bustling Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philadelphia (grab a sandwich from Mose if you’re ever in the neighborhood, if he’s not around his daughters are often there running the show). Mose used to run…
I got back from Pennsylvania over the weekend and have been trying to get caught up here. Â Maybe I am getting old but I always feel like I need to sleep for 2 days after these trips! Apologies to anyone who came looking for Friday’s post, which didn’t make it up in the hurry. We’ll have some more from last week coming up. I also…
So far: Seeing the Christian Aid meatpacking operation in action. A mobile canning station in a converted tractor trailer travels across North America (13 states and 2 provinces, I was told) stopping in communities (often Plain) where volunteers contribute labor and supplies to prepare and can meat for humanitarian aid purposes. The program has heavy Amish involvement in places like Lancaster and Holmes Counties. Yesterday…
The horse and buggy is the obvious transportation icon of the Amish but the scooter must be the runner up. Though not all Amish use them they are the classic horseless vehicle among the Amish in Lancaster County (where bikes are not really seen) and a number of other communities. Scooters were big a few years back when a scootering craze seemed to hit English…
I recently heard that a number of Amish in the Lancaster County community have begun using regular electric washers (like any English home might have, except powered by the diesel generator). With the widely-used wringer washers (ie, the old Maytag style), the clothes are still pretty wet when you finish. Â Using a regular washer, the spin cycle forces a lot of that extra water out,…
The New Wilmington, PA Amish community numbers 19 church districts, and around 2,500 souls. It is quite a recognizable group by its brown-top buggies and powder-blue doors on everything from homes to schools to milkhouses. I thought I’d share a few photos you might enjoy from last summer’s visit. Which one makes you miss summer most? The New Wilmington Amish community, located an hour north…
This photo was taken in the New Wilmington PA Amish settlement. I’ve mentioned before how I’m no big fan of cell phones. Â That said, they sure are handy to have on hand when you actually need to talk to someone. The pay phone is one of those things, like the roadside diner and the family radio, that seem destined to become a quaint relic of…
Using a Kindle to post for most of the past week meant I couldn’t upload photos. Here are a few I’d like to have included, mostly from Lancaster County. Â It was an overcast week, or at least it seemed to be whenever I pulled out my camera. There’s a story behind each of these photos, though I don’t know them all myself: …
Amish women let their hair grow, so they have a lot of it. Â Hair pins keep all those locks in place, up underneath a prayer covering. I thought I’d give you a look at some plain hair pins. Â I picked these up at an Amish dry goods shop (not for personal use, demonstration purposes only, ha-ha). They’re thick and sturdy, about 3 inches long, and…
From a Lancaster friend’s home: Sharpening minds and no. 2’s: Sigh. Â I remember spending a bit more time with these, once: Here’s the full list of Amish home interior photos.