Mennonite Market

RISING FROM THE ASHES: A couple of Amish-owned businesses burned to the ground last week in Berks County, Pennsylvania an true to Amish form a mere two or three days later the businesses are on the verge of being rebuilt. A couple of things jumped out at me from the article. One, this is just vintage Amish and what makes them so endearing to outsiders. People just literally drop everything to help their neighbors in need. No questions asked. They just do what needs to be done. A secondary thing that jumped out at me is an Amish man living in a stone house built in 1775. Holy cow! That would be amazing to be living in a home older than the Revolution. Oh, and another thing that jumped out at me: while admirable, running into a burning building to save some clocks is.....of questionable wisdom. But, again, that's the Amish selflessness coming to the fore. Click here to read the whole article.

AMISH FICTION: This genre just seems to keep going and going. But for how long? I think eventually the market will saturate itself. There are simply too many people, in my opinion, writing Amish fiction (heck, even I've taken a crack at it). Someday the market will sort itself out. Click here to read another piece about the popularity of Amish fiction.

SWISS MAID: As someone who studies Amish and Plain culture I found this article about a Mennonite market near Columbus, Indiana interesting. Be sure to click through the accompanying photo gallery While the article never specifically says I'm guessing this is a Beachy Amish Mennonite church this family is a part of and this story probably is similar in tone to one of my favorites - The Home Place - in Georgetown, Ohio. Click here to read about this Mennonite market in Columbus.

WELL, GOOD.......I'm tired of this story, maybe a jury finally made it go away. Click here.

MY AMISH HOME: There are two Illinois papers that carry Millie Otto's column. I'll be candid, Millie is not my favorite writer. I just think she goes all over the place, but I share it because I think she offers decent cultural insight into the Arthur, Illinois community. One of the newspapers that carries her labels the column as by "Melinda Strawn"...drive s me batty because they do it week after week, even though the column is by Millie Otto (Melinda works for the paper). Anyway, if you can overlook the incorrect byline, click here to read Millie this week and get a recipe for Sausage, Potato and Corn Pie! Click here.