Amish in the News: Farmers Market Flap, Bilingual County, Amish Craftsman, Amish Scholar and Meet Vernon Troyer

By Kevin Williams

Okay, we have a variety of interesting stories in this week'Amish in the News, so let's plunge right in!

FARMERS MARKET FLAP:  A small town in southeastern Minnesota's growing Amish community is involved in a flap over its Amish vendors who were forced out because of requirements over carrying insurance (something the Amish generally don't do).  Click here to read the latest.

BILINGUAL PENNSYLVANIA COUNTY: Interesting that some government notices in Mercer County, PA are now going to be published in English and German to cater to the area's Amish population.  I assume that is the case in other counties with high proportions of Amish.  I don't want to get political, but a segment of the population gets very upset when things are bilingual in English and Spanish, but I doubt this will cause a ripple at all.  To me, that shows an anti-Hispanic bias in some quarters... but, anyway, click here to read more.

AMISH ARTISAN:  Okay, warning:.....I was able to access this article one time before it started prompting me to pay.  Sooo, my advice is take your chances...maybe it was a free fluke, maybe they give you "one free read" before the paywall comes out.  This is a fascinating article about an Amish buggy maker that breathes new life into old sleighs and buggies. Click here to attempt to read.

AMISH SCHOLAR: Karen Johnson-Weiner is well-known in the New York Amish community for her studies and scholarship.  Now she is expanding her portfolio by becoming a fellow at the Young Center for Anabaptist Studies, click here to read more.

Vernon Troyer

MEET VERNON TROYER:  What a fascinating profile! I can't say that I had ever heard of Vernon Troyer, an actor.  But he comes from the Amish settlement of Centreville, Michigan (a place I'm quite familiar with) and is now an actor. Read about his journey from Amish to actor here.