Amish in the News: Amish Furniture of Nebraska, Illegal Midwifery, Mennonite Country Doctor, Make Your Own Scrapple, and More!

By Kevin Williams

AMISH FURNITURE OF NEBRASKA:   You know, I first read this and I rolled my eyes....this is just another "faux Amish" furniture outlet, but after I read the article it sounds like the owners have done their due diligence and that you can get some very authentic, Amish-made pieces here...so, take a look.

AMISH "MIDWIVES" PLEAD GUILTY:  SIGH, I don't like anything about this story. I don't like that these ladies were so reckless in their unlicensed midwifery.  I don't like that a baby died from their lack of training.  Yet, I also, for some reason, don't like the jail time they'll probably get.  I mean, geez, these are ladies in their 70s from a very insular Amish community....I...mmmmm, I don't know...I just don't know that jail serves anyone, makes society any safer, etc.  I think they need to be disciplined. I think they need to stop practicing midwifery...but then there are larger issues like the Berne, Indiana Amish community needs better access to home birthing options.  I think these ladies probably did the best they could with what they had (which wasn't much).  Click here to read the whole story.

LEGIT DOCTOR/"MIDWIFE" TO THE AMISH:  Ironically, the same day the above story hit the newswires, this story did also and it's a perfect illustration of how modern medicine CAN connect with the Amish through the right vehicle, in this case, Dr. Byler, who forged a trusting relationship with many Ohio Plain people.  The difference between many of Ohio's Plain communities and the Berne, Indiana Amish is that Ohio has medical options available for the Amish on "their terms."  In Berne, there's really not, so these Amish ladies, were "forced" to find ways to bring a medical service to the larger community.  Click here to read about country doctor Byler.

AMISH BENT AND DENT STORES:  This is a good article that describes the experience of shopping at an Amish "Bent N Dent" store and the types of things you can find.  I mean, if you have one near you, and if you have the patient and pluck to pick through everything, then, yes, you could save a lot of money.  I'd not go there expecting to find organics and fresh butcher-case meat but for paper towels or cereal or coffee..sure... Click here to read this article.

MAKE YOUR OWN SCRAPPLE!  This is an interesting article about this Amish favorite: scrapple.  But whereas the Amish version is made from scraps of meat (hence the name scrapple) procured during the butchering process, this is the first time I've seen a version that you can make yourself using cuts of meat you buy (or have in your fridge).  Check it out here.

SKIERS FRENCH TOAST FROM MILLIE:  Amish columnist Millie Otto shares a recipe for this French toast...not sure why it is called Skiers...or "Skier's"...a search online didn't give me any real reasons, but this recipe is found in a lot of Amish cookbooks and in Amish recipe boxes.  So check it out here.