Amish in the News: Tragedy in Indiana, Amish in Wisconsin, Pretzels, Cabbage Rolls, Millie's Hot Dog Chili, and Much More!

By Kevin Williams

SENSELESS LOSS

TRAGEDY IN INDIANA:  I'm going to defer to Gloria to talk more about this because she is related to the victims in this article.  But it's so sad and tragic.  A promising young family shattered on the side of an Indiana road.  It just goes to show you that there is sometimes danger in the dark and why the robbers couldn't have just done their deed and left is unclear, instead they had to take a life, here's an excerpt:

Wilma Hochstetler was shot and killed after an alleged robbery early Thursday morning on the west side of Indianapolis. Jonathan was shot through the neck and transported to an area hospital. Their 6-year-old son was in the backseat of their truck at the time.

Wilma Hochstetler, 40, was the youngest of her six sisters and seven brothers. She lived with her husband, Jonathan, and their four children in Worthington, Indiana, about an hour and a half southwest of Indianapolis. She helped run J&W Commercial Roofing with her husband in Bloomfield, just 15 minutes from of their home.

Wilma and John grew up in the Amish church but had become Mennonites as adults.  Read the whole Indianapolis Star article and see the photos of the beautiful family here.
AMISH CHILDREN BEING TARGETED?  There's been some jitters in a Wisconsin settlement about vehicles approaching Amish kids.  Most reports have been investigated and proven to just be misunderstandings, although one case remains unresolved.  You know, when I am in an Amish settlement I try to be especially sensitive to steering clear of children.  I love Amish schools and taking photos of the buildings and seeing the grounds, but I never do so if the school is in session.  It just seems too creepy to have some middle-aged guy loitering around with a camera. And when I visit an Amish home, often the kids just spill out of the house, but I always ask for an adult.  Anyway, read the article here.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE......

OLD ORDER MENNONITE MEMOIRS:  I am still enthralled with this weekly newspaper column, again (broken record, I feel like) because it is written by an Old Order Mennonite and this, to my knowledge, is the first column ever written by an OOM.  So her wonderful writing gives us a real window into a slightly different world than the Amish.  Here's an excerpt of Rosann Zimmerman this week:
Like Monday evening's smokey sun, Saturday morning's temperature stopped me short. After four short months of intense growing in our gardens and fields we have arrived again into frost that kills and blackens. In the afternoon, I escaped the trap of weekly cleaning to meander into my garden to dig sweet potatoes and some carrots. I tore away some dead tomato plants and listened to sounds of summer's death.
Summer's demise is actually part of a dream fulfilled for two couples who eagerly anticipate the arrival of their autumn wedding days. In Windy Acres Lane, David and Marlene Martin are preparing for a wedding for their fifth daughter. Lord willing, Jordan Stauffer will claim Verna Martin as his bride on the 15th of October. He is the son of Eugene and Grace Stauffer of New Enterprise.
Click here to read the whole column.

AMISH FOOD IN THE NEWS!

SHUEY'S PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH PRETZELS:  Man, these sound good. I had never heard of this brand.  Coal-fired pretzels?  Apparently, that is what makes this brand so distinctive. An excerpt of the article:
“It’s the coal-fired oven that makes them taste so good,” said Shuey, 58. “As far as I know, we’re the only bakery that still makes pretzels in a coal-fired oven. Everything’s out-sourced today. It’s too slow of a process to make them the way we make them. Nobody else makes pretzels like that.”
Click here to read the whole article and you'll then be craving pretzels!
Want a pretzel recipe?  Check out our award-winning Amish pretzel recipe here!
AMISH CABBAGE ROLLS?  Are cabbage rolls Amish in origin?  This article seems to suggest so.  I remember my Uncle Bob, who was of German stock, making homemade cabbage rolls when I was a kid and my Mom loved them.  I remember having them a time or two and they were very good, very distinctive.  Actually, considering his German lineage and the Amish-German lineage, this would make sense.
Click here for this whole article about cabbage rolls and a recipe.
MILLIE OTTO:  This week it's Millie Chili!  In addition to sharing the happenings in the Arthur, Illinois Amish settlement this week, Millie shares a recipe for homemade chili that you put on a hog dog.  Sounds amazing!  Here is the recipe:

Click here to check all of Millie's column this week!