Amish in the News: Doctor to the Amish, Leaving the Amish (Real), Breaking Amish (Fiction), Doughnuts and More!

By Kevin Williams

We have a fascinating blend of stories this week.

DOCTOR TO THE AMISH: As an aside, college towns seem to be one of the few places where a vibrant print press survives.  For instance, Columbia, Missouri has at least two print papers that duke it out for readers.  I know there are others.  Ohio State University has its highly acclaimed newspaper, The Lantern, which competes with attention with the established daily in Columbus, Ohio.  In Bloomington, Indiana, The Indiana Daily Student  competes toe to toe with the daily Herald-Press.  Just kind of an interesting dynamic considering the death throes that print is experience, especially among young people   Tiny Athens, Ohio has a city paper but also a student paper, The Post.  The Post ran a super article about an Ohio University faculty member that provides free medical treatment to an Amish community in Kentucky.  The article never says where in Kentucky the good doctors goes and, at least to me, that would have been interesting to know.  But, anyway, click here to read the piece.

GROWING UP AMISH:  How refreshing.  The Amish number almost 500,000 in the United States and with a group that large there is inevitable statistical certainty that you'll have people coming and going all the time.  Most happen with little fanfare.  Usually the Amish who leave and capture the attention are the ones who leave and talk about how miserable their Amish existence was.  The reality is that people leave the Amish for a variety of reasons and often a miserable existence reflects more specifically on an individual family than the Amish as a whole.  And leaving the Amish doesn't always automatically result in a shunning. Sometimes it happens,sometimes it does not. Everything is more nuanced than what pop culture would have you believe.   So it is very refreshing to read a young woman who left the Amish, still has positive things to say about them, and remains close to her family.  Click here to read more.

BREAKING AMISH:  Okay, from reality to pure fiction.  Remember the spate of Amish-themed reality TV shows from several years ago?  I never thought there was much reality to them at all.  The ones that aired on the National Geographic channel:  Amish Out of Order and Amish at the Altar were OK, the rest were fictional garbage (in my opinion).  But Breaking Amish had a lot of fans and there was a reunion filmed recently, so if you followed that show, you can get your fill here.

THE AMISH DOUGHNUT:   One of these days I'd love to try a doughnut from the Amish Baking Company, run by the Peachy family.  I've always been a little unclear on their Amish background, as they often refer to their Amish upbringing near Statesville, NC.   My guess is that they were in some way affiliated with the Union Grove, North Carolina community about 25 minutes from Statesville.  There just aren't many Amish churches in the Tarheel State.  Anyway, who cares, they make awesome doughnuts.  Click here to read about their confection (the article is a bit hyper-fawning, but they do sound amazing).

MILLIE'S LEMON CHIFFON CAKE:  Millie Otto is an Amish woman who writes a column for a couple of Illinois newspapers.  Let's check in with her this week right here.  She shares a recipe for Lemon Chiffon Cake. Yum.