• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Amish 365
  • About
  • Amish Recipes
  • Amish Culture
  • Amish Marketplace
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Amish Recipes
  • Amish Culture
  • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Amish Recipes
    • Amish Culture
    • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Everything Amish » Plain Culture

    Journey to Arthur, Illinois - Introduction

    Published: Oct 24, 2018 · Updated: Oct 24, 2018 by Kevin Williams | Leave a Comment

    Arthur - My return after 25 years....

    By Kevin Williams

    The first time I ever visited Arthur, Illinois was when I was a 21-year-old journalist on assignment for AAA's Home & Away Magazine. I was going to stay for a few days and do a really nice story about Arthur's Amish community, Illinois's largest. Mission accomplished. And back in those days it was the only Amish community in Illinois, now there are at least a half dozen.

    Several hours after I left my hometown in Ohio, headed for Arthur, I realized I had forgotten my suitcase which had my camera packed away.  That was a big problem.  Man, I look back and I was one resourceful kid.  What I did next was to think of some way to get my suitcase to me quickly and cheaply.   I thought of a Greyhound bus.  So I called Greyhound from a pay phone to see if my suitcase could buy a ticket from Ohio to Mattoon, Illinois where I was staying.  They said that was possible, so my parents dropped off my suitcase at the Greyhound station, paid $15,  and several hours after I arrived in Mattoon, my suitcase did too.  When I think back to that, I was a really resourceful kid.  I mean, orchestrating that would be tough today even with a smartphone to look information up on, but to coordinate that all from a pay phone?  Yeah, I was good at that sort of stuff.

    I don't remember a ton about my stay in Arthur and I can't find the article I wrote.  I do remember that Mattoon - about 15 miles from Arthur - seemed like a rough little town and that Arthur was a pretty conservative Amish community.   During that visit I made some good friends, learned all about Arthur, and really loved my stay there... but then I left and never returned.  Until yesterday.

    And in some ways, Arthur hasn't changed a bit, in some ways it has.

    Stay tuned in the days ahead to my dispatches from Arthur, Illinois, the largest and oldest Amish settlement in the Land of Lincoln.

    « The Amish Cook: Quick Bars
    Arthur, lllinois Dispatch - Roselen's Coffee Shop »

    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

    More about me →

    Latest Amish Recipes

    • Finished Ham Loaf
      Amish Ham Loaf
    • What is Shunning? And Do the Amish Still Shun?
    • Amish Ham & Potato Skillet Supper
    • What Language Do The Amish Speak? (German or English?)
    dutchcrafters

    Download The "Almost Amish" Ebook

    Footer

    Footer

    About

    • About The Amish Editor
    • Download "Almost Amish" Ebook
    • Amish Communities
    • Amish Marketplace

    Contact

    • Work With Us
    • Contact

    *As a member of various affiliate programs I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2000 - 2020 Amish 365 | Powered by Touch The Road