Amish pen pals are tough, but not impossible, to find. Â Â
By Kevin Williams
I have been editor of The Amish Cook column for over 25 years and one question I get asked a lot is: Â how do I go about getting an Amish pen pal?
Now, interestingly, I get asked this question a LOT less these days than I did back in the 1990s. Â As email and texting has become more ubiquitous, even among the Amish, writing letters by hand as declined. Â Still, for some more conservative and older Amish writing letters remains a fun hobby. Â The problem is that the Amish see a lot more of us than we see of them. Â So the curiosity is often a one-way street. Â Amish people see non-Amish people everyday whizzing by in their cars or delivering their mail or depositing their checks at the bank. Â Most Amish aren't all that curious about us, they see us all the time. Â Many non-Amish, however, don't run into Amish people on a daily, or even yearly, basis so the curiosity is greater. Â Also, many non-Amish people have this need to connect with a simpler life which feeds the hunger for an Amish pen pal. Â Again, it's a one-way street. Â There just aren't many Amish people out there saying "gee, I want a faster, more hectic, chaotic life, I'd love to connect with someone who has one."
That doesn't mean there aren't opportunities to find Amish penpals. There are. Â A few years ago I met with a non-Amish person who really wanted a pen pal and I said "Not gonna happen, you just aren't going to find an Amish penpal." Â And within weeks she had proven me wrong, she had gone to Holmes County, Ohio after our conversation, struck up a friendship with a bishop's wife, and gone from there. Â They still write to this day.
There's no "registry" of Amish people seeking non-Amish penpals. Â You have to do the spadework yourself. Go to an Amish community and make some friends. Â You could probably also put an ad in The Budget, an Amish newspaper, but I wouldn't hold your breath for a response. Â I'm not trying to rain on the penpal parade, just trying to be realistic from experience. Â Again, your best bet is to visit an Amish community, make some friends in person, and then send a letter. Â Also, if it were me, I'd consider a Mennonite penpal, you get the same connection with simplicity without all the competition for attention. Just a thought. Â Good luck!
Leave a Reply