By Kevin Williams
Have an interesting mix of stories in this week's Amish in the News, so let's jump right in!
Amish and Mennonite buggy horses are hard workers through "middle age"
AMISH HORSES: The Amish are all over the map in their treatment of horses (see, that is where the Amish are just like everyone else...you'd never say "all non-Amish people like tomato juice." That's just not the way human nature works. Some non-Amish people love tomato juice, some non-Amish people hate tomato juice, and many fall in the middle. So when someone says to me that the "Amish are terrible with dogs"....well, no...some are, some aren't...but back to horses....) Anyway, some Amish view their buggy horses as practically family members. Others view them as basically an object, something to be scrapped once the usefulness fades. But educational efforts and outreach are underway to try to get more Amish to view their horses as a creature of value even after they are too old to pull their buggies. I think this is a good article and also illustrates that the Amish, as a whole, are generally very receptive to educational outreach. So, click here if you want to read about encouraging efforts to give Amish buggy horses a better life after they "retire."
A MENNONITE DEMOCRAT? In Lancaster County's Amish country you have two people with deep Mennonite roots battling it out for a Congressional seat. You wouldn't think of a Mennonite Democrat,but Mennonites can be pretty progressive on some issues such as single-payer healthcare, ICE issues, and more. So can Jess King tap into this vein of Plain culture and unseat Smucker? We'll have to see. Click here to read about this interesting race.
AMISH UBER REVISITED - Love this article in The Guardian because it pretty much sums up what I said last week about the "Amish Uber" story I posted last week. It was genius marketing on the part of the Amish man and it's not the first time I have seen just amazing marketing skills among the Amish. I'll give you just one example: a lot of the small, hand-lettered signs you see in Amish country have to do with simple marketing. People driving through Amish country are more likely to stop and buy "Home Baked Bread" if it's just hand-scrawled on a sign than on a fancy billboard. It's not always intentional, but sometimes it is and that is genius marketing, because they are correct. I know I'm more like to stop at a small-hole-in-the-wall Amish bakery. Anyway, click here to read.
MILLIE OTTO'S PICKLED BEETS: Let's check in this week with Illinois Amish columnist Millie Otto and her recipe this week for Amish pickled beets, which are a fixture at church meals in Amish country. Click here for the recipe and column.
LEE ANN MILLER'S AMISH WAFFLES: Check out Amish country chef, Lee Ann Miller, for her monthly recipe on Cleveland's Fox news channel. This month it is a recipe for delicious Amish waffles, click here for the recipe.
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