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The diapers flapped in the wind as Sarah pinned the corners to the clothesline. She looked up at the white cotton clouds in the bright blue March sky and took a deep breath. What a nice wash day, she thought. Sarah remembered the day several months before when she was hanging out sheets at her…

The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living. ~ Cicero   About fifteen years ago, I became interested in what the cause of my great-grandmother's death was. (This was my maternal grandmother's mother). I knew only a very few details — that she had died when my grandmother was not…

When I was five years old, my parents decided to send me to kindergarten in public school. At the time, there were no Amish schools near where we lived, so that was not an option for my older brother, sister, and me. I am surprised that my parents decided to send me to kindergarten, however.…

The other day I was out picking raspberries and blueberries at a local berry farm. I was reminded of another day, back when I was baking professionally in Vermont, when I had an unusual experience.  "Olin Clara" was someone who made a big difference in my life as a young Amish girl. Years later, I…

I am discovering there are quite a few blogs and websites about Amish. I will list the ones I know about.  The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies has an Amish Studies website with a newly updated statistics page. The surprise in it is that Lancaster, Pennsylvania has surpassed Holmes County, Ohio in Amish…

Elin asked: "What do you think about outsiders who wants to join the Amish? Do you think that they are 'crazy' or can you understand their reasoning?" Thank you for asking this question, Elin. I know that everyone has a spiritual path — mine happened to take me out of the Amish, but someone else's might…

In the 1972 landmark United States Supreme Court case Wisconsin v. Yoder, a decision made by the Wisconsin Supreme Court was upheld when it was decided that the Amish should be exempt from compulsory education, based on their right to exercise their religious freedom. The principle opinions clearly rested on the religious rights of the parents. In…

Susan J. Reinhardt asked: Do the Amish deny young people educational opportunities because of their religious beliefs or is to to keep them from leaving the community?  Wow, Susan, this is a succinct, yet tough question. I've been thinking about how to answer it for the last day and a half. In fact, I had…

Only by joy and sorrow does a person know anything about themselves and their destiny. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe   There are few Amish rules I deem to be outright “wrong.” However, there is one that I feel passionately about, and that is the one that limits Amish young people from going to school…