MetaFilter posts tagged with amish

Amish Snowbirds: Pinecraft, Florida

keli — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:50:26 -0800

The season now approaches for snowbirds to make their way to warmer climes for the season. Among them will be members of Amish and Menonnite orders. In the 1920s, farmers were persuaded to come to Sarasota, Florida and begin using the land for agricultural purposes. Among the items surmised best to grow in the soil was celery, produce already commonplace in Amish farms in the northern bands of the US. And so, some made the trip to begin farming, only to later learn it was a scam, but the weather and surroundings enticed them to stay or visit on a regular basis. Pinecraft, Florida is the winter home for many of these people. As far as the scam went, there was celery farming that could be done, but it was very limited. "Miss Pascal: What type of soil is it in Sarasota? Mr. Haney: That's a muck. You see that was a drained lake. All of the celery farming in Sarasota County was in an old drained lake." Pinecraft is a very small community of about 500 homes in a planned grid. The streets are narrow and most travel by way of bicycle. Few live there year round, and many of the homes are rented to others within the order. Their most favorite pastime is shuffleboard, though volleyball and horseshoes also have popularity among the residents. Recently, winter preparations were made for the soon visiting travelers. The Deacon for the local Amish congregation waited for a Pioneer Trails bus to come and deliver coffins.

(not-so) Real Housewives of Lancaster County

Miko — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:21:49 -0800

A new subgenre is rising to meet the significant demand for romance novels that won't corrupt the flesh: Amish Romances. The relatively chaste romances, mostly written by non-Amish authors, the books are selling well, with Cindy Woodsnall's Sisters of the Quilt trilogy leading the pack on the New York Times bestseller list, and many new authors jumping into the game.

The Amish Hackers

SpecialK — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:37:21 -0800

The Amish Hackers - How the Amish modify modern technology to meet their needs, and the motivation behind those needs.

Escaping the Amish

jbickers — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:46:15 -0800

"I hadn’t gotten beaten by my mom that day, and we hadn’t had any significant arguments over anything. I thought that if I died, I wanted to die without being mad at my mom. So I thought, I might as well take the opportunity to do so before I got back to the house—at which point who knows whether there would be another fight or a beating." Escaping the Amish.

the doggy in the window

Brian B. — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:59:00 -0800

Amish puppy mills, outrage and controversy.

Technology and Education

Brandon Blatcher — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:53:27 -0800

Three columns on technology and eduction by Robert Cringely: the clash between those who grew up with computers and those who didn't in War of the Worlds, Amish Paradise looks for learning models in unexpected places and Ozzy knows best talks about how important digital games, not video games, could be to education. If you're curious, Cringely is pseudonym

Trespassed Against: Nickel Mines, One Year Later

Toekneesan — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 07:33:39 -0800

"My first day on the job was the Amish school shooting at Nickel Mines in Lancaster County, Pa. in October of 2006. Here is some video of what I saw that day." Raw footage from that terrible day, recently posted to YouTube. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 It's been a little over a year since a milk truck driver walked into the one room school in Nickel Mines Pennsylvania and shot ten girls, killing five, finally turning the gun on himself. Half of the seventy-five attendees at the killer's funeral were Amish and included parents of the victims. The week after it happened the community set up two funds to help the surviving families, one for the families of the girls, one for the the children of the shooter. Forgiveness is a central part of the Amish belief system, taking the sermon on the mount as Christ's direct and specific description of how to live in the world. This includes the line from the Lord's Prayer: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. Other resources: NPR on the anniversary and about a pretzel company's founders and their efforts to help. Three leading Anabaptist scholars have just published a book about the incident, Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. Excerpts from that book. The Amish FAQ page from the Young Center for Anabaptists and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. The anniversary covered by the local paper.

Behind the bonnet

UseyurBrain — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:10:59 -0800

Amish Girls Gone Wild? There is a tradition in Amish communities to allow young adult members to experience the outside world and to decide if they will join the church for life. This Rumspringa period is a time to taste the forbidden fruit of beer, cell phones and dancing. It has spawned a movie and book and I find personally fascinating.

No telephones or vibrators please

nathan_teske — Fri, 02 Jul 2004 15:31:42 -0800

Sexual abuse amongst the Amish has traditionally been handled by the Amish. However, some victims are breaking with their communities and exposing their cloistered world to legal authorities and losing their entire family in the process. (Nerve.com link, relatively SFW)

quonsar — Tue, 08 May 2001 18:16:38 -0800

"We’re not behaving, sometimes we’re pretty wild."
The buggy’s interior is upholstered in royal blue velour. A triangular swatch of the same material is attached to the dash. Silver key chains with colorful emblems - Guns and Roses, Cleveland Browns, and a miniature baseball bat - hang from battery-operated light switches.

Five stereo speakers - including a 12-inch sub-woofer - line the inside of the covered buggy.

On the seat is a selection of old cassette tapes: "The Outfield," "Vixen," and "Hooters."

"This thing will rock, I’m telling you," one of the boys says.