Today was a rainy, drippy, sad day that fit my mood exactly. I am still reeling from this past weekend. I did something that I will probably wonder for the rest of my life whether it was the right thing or not. For some time now, Anna has been planning to return to her community. She had in mind to […]
Ever since I’ve gotten to know Anna Miller, the young woman who lives with us, I’ve said that the difference between her Swartzentruber community and the Amish community where I came from is about as great as the difference between my community and the outside world. In fact, Anna’s group called anyone who is not Swartzentruber “sorta Amish.” When I
The Juncture of Three Cultures Read More »
A friend recently sent me a link to an article in On Earth Magazine called “Fracking the Amish” that reports the conflict in the Amish settlement in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, near the Ohio border. I have been to this community on two occasions. My maternal grandmother grew up there. I wrote a story called “Sarah’s Courtship” that is based on
Fracking in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania Read More »
Many of the misconceptions of the Amish come about because someone misunderstands their ways and then imposes their values on the Amish. This is how the misconception of “rumspringa” became so widespread… the people making a documentary The Devil’s Playground misconstrued the idea of what “rumpspringa” is all about. Now the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the Amish have been taken several giant
The Amish, Misunderstood Again Read More »
I have no actual photos of me when I was a baby or a very young child. But I do have “Amish” photos or “memory” photos that were passed down to me from my mother. I treasure these, for they give me a snapshot in time that becomes vivid when I use my imagination. The earliest Mem snapshot is taken
