Okay, some Amish in the News today, some of these stories are follow-ups on past ones, others are new, so let's explore!
AMISH DOCTOR: Last week I posted about the "Amish doctor" coming to give a talk in Fremont, Nebraska and took the local paper there to task over the misleading headline. And, SIGH, they did it again. And, to repeat, I'm not in any way denigrating the woman's accomplishments. She sounds amazing, I just think "Amish doctor" is a term that needs some clarifying. Anyway, sounds like she gave a fascinating talk. If you'd like to read about her talk, click here.
STARTING FROM SCRATCH: Wipf is a very common name among Hutterites. Both Wipf and Waldner are among Hutterites kind of like Yoder and Bontrager are among the Amish: very common names. The Spokane, Washington newspaper recently ran an article about a teenage girl who's family left the Hutterites. The article profiles her upcoming graduation from high school and her process of getting acclimated to life outside the colony. What I liked about this article is that it wasn't from someone hawking a book about leaving or with an agenda to push. It's just an interview with a teenage girl describing her life transition from Hutterite to English. Very interesting, I wish the reporter would have asked more questions, but the article is a good read. Click here.
MEASLES IN OHIO: The outbreak among the Amish continues to spread with health workers now fearing the disease might jump to the Hispanic community. Click here to read the latest.
ANOTHER SAWMILL FIRE: Last week I posted about an Amish sawmill in Ohio that burnt to the ground. This time it's Michigan. This week a remarkably similar sawmill fire occurred in Lakeview, Michigan. That's a small, relatively conservative Amish settlement and the fire hits at the heart of the community. But the local paper interviewed the sawmill owner and his quotes are typical of the stoicism and resignation that are part of Amish culture. His attitude is basically "let's just clean up this mess and get back to business." And I'm sure he'll have plenty of help! Click here to read more.
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