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    Home » Everything Amish

    Life In Rural America, Anyone?

    Published: Jul 31, 2015 · Updated: Jul 31, 2015 by Kevin Williams | 3 Comments

    By Kevin Williams

    This is the cover of a book published by National Geographic in 1972, the year I was born. An Amish man with a very interesting story to tell (I'll share more next month) showed me a copy of this title.  The book is, as the title suggests, about rural america and it covers all sorts of "rural folk", from gypsies to Melungeons to just average farmers.  And, of course, the Amish are generally a rural people so they made the cut also.  Apparently the Amish community was abuzz with excitement when this photographer and writer first came calling, but some soured on his stay as photography is controversial in the Amish church.

    lifeinrualamishpeopleDoes anyone have this book?  Apparently it sold quite a few copies in the early 1970s.

    I'll leave you to guess where the photo of the smiling Amish man was taken.  Or perhaps someone has the book and let us know (I know where it was taken, I just like a good guessing game!:)

    These Amish in this church settlement knew ahead of time that they would be photographed and they did permit it, which seems like that would have been very unusual back in 1972.  But this is a special Amish community even to this day.  I wish I had a copy of the book, I might have to start scouring Ebay.

    As an aside, my 22-m0nth-old daughter, Aster, is getting very good at recognizing Amish people.  She has looked at the above photo a couple of times and says "Amish people" each time.  She definitely has a very advanced vocabulary for someone her age!

     

    « Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie
    Amish in the News Special Feature: Mennonites in Bolivia Photo Essay »

    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

    Comments

    1. Sheila

      July 31, 2015 at 1:38 pm

      Yes! I have 3 copies. One for myself and 1 for each of my children! My great-grandfather is in the picture to the right, although you cannot see him in this post.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        July 31, 2015 at 1:54 pm

        Ha, I think all the copies of this book must be squirreled away in Oakland, Maryland! It's a neat book!

        Reply
    2. Lisa Siegwald-Baird

      August 08, 2015 at 3:35 pm

      I just checked at Amazon.com and they have the book

      Reply

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    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!

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