• 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

    Where Were You In 1992?

    Published: Sep 9, 2013 · Updated: Feb 2, 2021 by Kevin Williams | 5 Comments

    Where were you in March 1992?

    I was a young journalist struggling to find my direction.  Sheesh, in that sense, not much has changed.  Twenty years later I am a middle-aged journalist struggling to find my direction:)  Okay, snark aside, think back to March 1992.  Personally, I was two years out of high school and nurturing a writing career with magazines and I had launched The Amish Cook column the previous summer.  So that was beginning to spread.  George H.W. Bush was President still, but a young Arkansas governor was emerging in the primaries and a Texas billionaire was also getting noticed.  The first Gulf War had been over for a year.  It would be another three or four years before my Dad first subscribed to "America Online", an early internet service.  Remember dial-up?  We still used actual film, cable didn't yet have 5000 channels, and  newspapers were still several years away from their implosion. Boy, it sure didn't seem so at the time but life did seem simpler back then, in retrospect.

    Also, in 1992, the first wave of Amish from what would turn out to be a pretty significant migration from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania began trickling into Kentucky.  Lancaster County was getting increasingly crowded and expensive and some Amish began to hear tales of a more bucolic, economical existence in the temperate climate of Kentucky. An article on the Knight-Ridder wire service chronicled their arrival.  Even the tone of journalism seems a little different, the article is choc full of southern stereotypes and misinformation about the Amish (sheesh, I wonder sometimes where the absolutely incorrect info that the Amish don't pay taxes began, well articles like this are one sourceI was doing some work for Kentucky Living magazine at the time and then wanted me to write a story about the state's influx of Amish.  I can't remember whether the story ever actually ran,but a friend of mine took some photos for me.   I had forgotten all about that episode of my journalistic endeavor until my parents started organizing the residue of my childhood still left behind in my old bedroom at their place recently.  Dad found a couple of slides (remember those?) which I immediately recognized as scenes from the beginning of this "Great Migration" in 1992.  I took those slides to Walgreens and for a couple of bucks got them digitized so I could share them with you.

    The first photo depicts a man and woman walking down a road.  The clothing colors and style are classic Old Order Amish, although it's a little difficult to tell 20 years later whether these are Lancaster County Amish.  Another shot shows an Amish man out working his fields in the most old-fashioned of ways. I seem to remember my friend telling me these photos were shot near Munfordville, Kentucky, which would make sense since Munfordville is so close to the highway.  Munfordville's Amish migration, though, came largely from Ohio.  Christian County, Kentucky, farther south than M-ville, was the initial landing point for most Lancaster arrivals.  Either way, 20 years later the Bluegrass state now has a large Amish presence really in all parts of the state except for the mountainous areas east of Lexington.  It's neat to have these photos turn up 20 years later, if my parents find more as they go through my old stuff, I'll be sure to share!

    « Saturday Blogroll: Amish Peanut Butter Spread, Southern Ohio Amish, Cinnamon Bread, and Pretzels
    Hardin County, Ohio »

    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. Tammy

      September 09, 2013 at 2:35 pm

      I will never forget 1992 - year of the birth of my 1st child, 26 hours of labor, but he arrived healthy, hard to believe he is 21 this year.

      As I am sure you, Kevin will never forget 2013 when your child will be born.

      Reply
    2. Wendy P

      September 09, 2013 at 3:49 pm

      I was right here. Only my beautiful daughter was a one year old, and my son a gleam in my eye. And I didn't have quite so many books crowding my space.

      Reply
    3. Christine

      September 09, 2013 at 11:03 pm

      In April of 1992 my mother passed away. In June my son graduated from high school and in Oct. I found a lump in my breast that turned out to be just some fatty tissue. I was so scared. I made sure I thanked God for that outcome.

      Reply
    4. Linda from KY

      September 09, 2013 at 11:54 pm

      In March of 1992 I was a young wife and mother. I had two little girls. One was 7 and in the second grade. The other was 7 months old. Now those little girls are young women; the oldest is married. My husband and I have since welcomed another daughter and our only son.

      Reply
    5. Julie

      September 10, 2013 at 8:28 am

      In May , 1992, my husband and I were married. This year our only child started college!

      Reply

    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

    • What Language Do The Amish Speak? (German or English?)
    • Amish Honey-Molasses Cake (Easy Sweet Treat!)
    • The Amish Cook - Daniel's Delicious Crispy Homemade Waffles
    • How Do The Amish Celebrate Easter?
    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