Catching Up With Bruce Stambaugh - Part II

By Kevin Williams

CAPTION: Bruce Stamabugh in Mt. Hope, Ohio

This is part II of my chat with blogger and Holmes County, Ohio educator, Bruce Stambaugh. If you missed, Part I, check it out here.

By Kevin Williams

Bruce Stambaugh and his wife Neva recently moved to Virginia to be closer to family, but he has spent many years living and teaching among the Amish of Holmes County and we recently sat down to talk about his years there (and we barely scratched the surface, so much more I wanted to talk about, but time was scarce for both of us!)

One interesting observation that Bruce shared, and I concur, is that Amish in Holmes County are much more willing to intertwine their lives with non-Amish compared to say the Lancaster, Pennsylvania Amish who are much of an "island" among themselves. Sure, the Lancaster Amish make non-Amish friends and interact, but there is, in general, much more of an arm's-length attitude. I'd say that the northern Indiana Amish fit somewhere in the middle in terms of their insularity.

A little bit of background about Bruce in his own words:

"I tell people I was born and raised in Canton, but that I grew up in Holmes Co. I went to Holmes Co. to accept a teaching job in the W. Holmes Local Schools in 1969 right after the big flood. I grew up in Plain Twp., Stark Co., graduated from Glenwood H.S. (now GlenOak) in 1965, graduated Kent State U. in 1969 with a B.S. in Journalism, and got my M.Ed. from Ashland U. in 1977. I was one of the first six to graduate from their masters program in education."

Bruce Stambaugh was not raised Mennonite but joined the church when his girlfriend, now his wife, Neva, took him to her her church, Beech Mennonite in Louisville.

"I joined the church a month before we were married in March 1971. The first sermon I heard preached by the late Wayne North was on non-resistance, putting into practice the words Jesus taught and the life He lived. It was what I had been searching for and have never looked back," Bruce said. Leaving their church, Millersburg Mennonite, is what Bruce cited as the most difficult part of his move.

Bruce plans to continue his popular blog from his new digs in Virginia. His posts touch upon his life, the Amish, the world, and anything else that comes to mind.

"The events that most people consider inconsequential but are essential in participating in life, sharing stories of birds in my backyard, vacations at Lakeside, interactions with my grandchildren, human interest things that everyone can identify with…. I have nothing to hide," Bruce says and, that, he says is one of the secrets to a happier life.

"No secrets...it is critical if you are going to have a long-term relationship in business, you can’t have secrets, if you are going to be servant leader you have to make yourself vulnerable."

About Kevin Williams

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Footer