Amish
Why Don’t the Amish Wear Masks?
Concerned about the pandemic, my wife and I waited until this last July before driving out to a nearby valley, known as “Sinking Valley,” to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables in the Amish markets we normally patronize. Over the years, we have become quite familiar with the proprietors—we address each other with our first […]
Maine Amish Cope with the Pandemic
Some Amish living in the Central Maine town of Unity were willing to tell a reporter, Hannah Yechivi, how they are coping with the coronavirus pandemic. According to her news report on May 26, they are mostly following the orders from the state without too much disruption in their lives. There are about 20 Amish […]
Fraud in Amish Country
A Mennonite man from southeastern Pennsylvania cheated Amish and Mennonite investors out of nearly 60 million dollars, according to an article in the Washington Post. Philip E. Riehl faces federal charges for securities fraud and conspiracy. Riehl was the majority owner of the Trickling Springs Creamery, an organic dairy business in Chambersburg that abruptly […]
Republicans Seek Amish Votes
It’s an election year in the U.S. and once again the Republicans are looking for ways to get more votes in Pennsylvania from the Amish. A news story on a Harrisburg-area television station last week described their latest attempt to court the Lancaster County Amish. According to the report, the Trump administration invited some Amish […]
Bragging about a Website
This website welcomes the new year with special pleasure: it’s the beginning of our 16th year of providing news and reviews about the 25 peaceful societies that we focus on. While some of the societies we follow have lost a lot of their peacefulness over the years, others appear from the news stories to cherish […]
Lancaster Welcomes Refugees
In September 2019, Welcoming America, an NGO that encourages communities to embrace immigrants and refugees, designated Lancaster as a “certified welcoming city.” It became the first place in Pennsylvania to be so named. A news story in October 2017 indicated that for a long time Lancaster has welcomed refugees and others who are different, a […]
Amish File Lawsuit
An Amish man in upstate New York has filed a lawsuit in a local court to exempt his three kids from vaccinations, which a recent state law has mandated for all school children. Among a host of news reports published on October 21 about the development, an Associated Press story reported by Syracuse.com and another […]
Amish Farmers Promote Environmental Stewardship
An informal association of farmers along Mill Creek in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County is promoting changes on their properties that are helping improve water quality in the stream. An article published on August 29 in the Bay Journal describes the work of the Mill Creek Preservation Association, most of whose members are Amish. It nicely supplements […]
Hostility toward the Amish in Pennsylvania
Township supervisors in southern Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, heard a lot of opinions on Monday evening, August 5, about some proposed anti-Amish ordinances. Two different news accounts reported the substance of the ordinances, which seek to prevent the damage that the Amish horses allegedly cause to the roads and the even more common argument, that the […]
Amish Avoid Graven Images
An Amish couple has settled a lawsuit against the U.S. federal government with guarantees that their freedom from being photographed will not be abrogated. The Indianapolis Star published an account of the historic agreement on May 29. Since Old Order Amish religious beliefs prohibit self-promotion, they were listed in the lawsuit only as “John and […]
