Latest news with #non-Amish
UPI
6 days ago
- UPI
7 Amish die in 2 crashes involving their rented van, buggy
Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The Amish community in Michigan is in mourning after seven died on the same day in two separate crashes 86 miles apart in the central part of the state. In Tuscola County, six Amish died when a driver ran a stop sign and the truck t-boned the van with 10 occupants in a crash reported at 4:45 p.m. EDT Tuesday. About 30 minutes later in Montcalm County, which is directly east of Tuscola County, a 4-month-old girl died after a driver crashed into a buggy while trying to pass. The Tuscola County Sheriff's Office said the van was traveling west on M-138 when it was struck by the truck traveling south. Several passengers were ejected with three others in the van hospitalized. The truck had three occupants, with one person dying, WJRT-TV in Flint reported. "They had a paid driver in the van," Undersheriff Robert Baxter told The Detroit News on Wednesday. "I'm not sure where they were headed or where they were coming from. They're county residents." Amish generally don't drive, and instead travel in horse and buggy. Families often hire van drivers for longer distances. "It's not uncommon for Amish families to hire a non-Amish driver (who owns a van) to transport them places that are further than buggy-driving distance," Steven M. Nolt, professor of History and Anabaptist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa., told the newspaper. "This might be a trip to a doctor's office 30 miles away from their home or it might be an interstate trip of hundreds of miles." In the second crash, reported at 5:19 p.m., a pickup traveling east attempted to pass a buggy occupied by seven Amish family members. The truck driver, noticing an oncoming vehicle, attempted to swerve back into the right lane and struck the buggy, Michigan State Police reported. Five children, all under 5, and a 24-year-old woman were taken to a hospital. The 4-month-old child died. On Wednesday, two children were released, the mother and a 1-year-old girl were in stable condition, and a 2-year-old boy was listed in critical condition. A man in the buggy and the pickup driver had minor injuries. The horse pulling the buggy was euthanized. "The Amish ... community will band together," Kevin Williams, who writes a syndicated Amish newspaper column, told The Detroit News. "There will be very large funerals that will draw thousands, many coming from states away to pay their respects. "The Amish will lean heavily on their faith and view the accident as God's will. Their grief is tempered by their faith." Several Amish have been involved in other crashes in the state. Last week, six Amish were hurt when an SUV crashed into a horse-drawn buggy in southwest Michigan. On the Fourth of July, a 22-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy in a buggy were injured when a man crashed into them in the central lower peninsula. The man was arrested on a drunken-driving charge. In March, a crash between a vehicle and a horse-drawn buggy killed an 8-year-old girl and seriously injured a 12-year-old boy in southwest Michigan. The Amish community in Michigan, which is estimated at 18,000, is spread in 52 settlements from Hillsdale and Branch County in the south to several in the Upper Peninsula, according to Amish America. The first Amish settled in the state in 1895. In North America, there are an estimated 411,060 Amish with a presence in 32 states, including 61% in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and three Canadian provinces, according to the Amish Studies' Young Center at Elizabeth College.
The Star
05-08-2025
- The Star
What we can learn from the Amish about life without a mobile phone
My mobile phone has a photo of pretty flowers on the lock screen but I usually rush past it in order to check my messages or scroll. I do waste a lot of time using it – spending some 97 minutes on it in just a morning. News matters, sure, but maybe scanning five sites counts as doom scrolling? And then there's the cat videos on YouTube or a recipe on TikTok. All that is detracting from my offline relationships but the online world is addictive and resisting it is hard work. Smartphones have conquered much of the world but the Amish of Lancaster County are putting up a strong resistance. The Amish are known for their simple lifestyle and often reject modern technology and conveniences and live separately from the non-Amish world. With green hills, picture-book farms and covered bridges, the idyllic county in Pennsylvania is home to the oldest and largest Amish community, with around 45,000 members, in the United States. The group, founded in 1729 or 1730, is a conservative religious community that distrusts new technologies from cars to Zoom. I headed here, thinking: where else could I better learn to turn off my smartphone in a serious digital detox? Going offline I was surprised to find I could book my bed and breakfast in Amish Country online. Later, I am all set to switch off my phone but find myself reading up on the Amish online during my flight. Emerging from the radical Anabaptist movement during the Reformation, the group's founding father, Jakob Ammann, split from the main branch of the Anabaptists, the Mennonites, in 1693, deciding they were not strict enough. What emerged was the "Ordnung," the name of the collection of mostly unwritten behavioural rules derived from the Bible, such as voluntary adult baptism and a modest lifestyle with deliberate separation from mainstream society. Persecuted in Central Europe, the Amish emigrated to Pennsylvania in the early 18th century. Today, the majority of the community still lives here, with 90,000 believers. There are about four times as many across North America, though they are no longer a homogeneous group, but are divided between two main currents. There are the moderate "New Order" Amish, who integrate modern elements into their daily lives, while "Old Order" Amish are more conservative. They largely reject electricity and speak "Pennsylvania Dutch," a language based on East Palatine German. I struggle without my phone on the way to Gordonville, trying to find my accommodation for three days. My smartphone is off and it is hard to find my quarters in the maze of country roads as I do not tend to carry a road map any more these days. Thankfully, I can rely on the satnav in my rental car. Electricity only for guests "Kansht du Deitsch shvetza?" asks hostess Anna Riehl upon my arrival at the bed and breakfast. I do indeed speak German, yes, but her antiquated dialect is almost incomprehensible. She continues in English, explaining her family has owned Beacon Hollow Farm in Gordonville for seven generations. Riehl's own home is not connected to the electricity grid, in accordance with the "Ordnung." But they make concessions for guests: in the holiday cottage, you can turn on the lights. In the kitchen, there is a coffee machine while in the wood-panelled bedroom I see a fan and hand-sewn quilted bedspreads. I also spot a washing machine and a freezer. Wait, a freezer? Often admired or ridiculed as a relic of the past, the Amish do not live outside space and time. Riehl wears a simple calf-length dress, often with an apron, always with a white cap over her hair which she does up in a bun. Her husband Ben has a flowing beard, wears a straw hat and black trousers with braces. They drive horse-drawn carriages or scooters with handlebar baskets instead of cars. Visually, they match the stereotype. But if an emergency arises, "English" neighbours – the blanket term for all non-Anabaptists – are hired as drivers. Retro-futuristic mix The Amish don't demonise innovations wholesale nor are they technically unskilled. The restrictions they choose foster ingenuity, and the Ordnung seems to allow for detours. Fellow believer and autodidact Aaron Blank modifies modern agricultural machinery so that horses can pull it. Tool batteries power room lamps. What is wrong with LED lights on a carriage anyway? But the Riehls refuse to embrace mobile phone technology. The signal does reach the farm, but they do not have mobile phones – though they do have a portable land line phone. Guests though may use their smartphones just as they are allowed to use the light switch. I dig mine out of the suitcase. It shows two bars of reception. True abstinence is therefore required, but here in Amish country, I am in very good company. I lock my phone in the kitchen cupboard and feel strangely relieved. What will I do with all my time now? I climb into the rental Jeep and go on a trip to explore the area and this time, I am smarter and pack with me a map of Lancaster County from the Riehls' place. Dozens of Amish farms are marked as attractions, including one owned by Jesse and Anna Ruth Lapp, which I enter as my destination. The family invites visitors to their Old Windmill Farm in Ronks for a hayride, milking practice and to bottle-feed calves. That sounds touristy but it will allow me to talk to the rather reserved believers more easily. Teens try technology "These mobile phones are dangerous," says Anna Ruth. In Amish communities, teens have a "rumspringa" phase, when they are no longer under parental authority but, being unbaptized, are not yet bound by church rules. At that time, even her teenagers bought one. "You become what you see," she warned and confiscated the first one from her children. They went and bought another. "We can only teach and preach," she says, looking upwards. As a necessary secondary income, many Amish people run a business alongside their farming operations, offering farm holidays. They may do modern marketing but indirectly, often aided by "English" friends and companies. That is how you can find Riehl's holiday home online. The Lapps have a farm blog, the Blanks have a simple website, and neighbour Leah Ruth Stoltzfus even advertises wellness products on Facebook. Is this not a contradiction of the rules? Back at the cottage, I feel an urge to check my phone, maybe quickly glance at my apps, but just as I reach the kitchen cupboard, I manage to resist. Digital abstinence requires discipline, even when the conditions are as favourable as they are in Lancaster County. I take a deep breath, sit on the veranda and watch the sun set behind grain silos instead. The Amish seek answers The next day, I have an appointment with Steve Nolt. He is a professor of Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster County. Every member of an autonomous church district can propose new technologies, he says. After a practical trial phase, the community votes on their adoption. The district bishop has veto rights. But the key is "to mitigate the impact of technology on human interaction and social organisation," says Nolt. In doing so, the Amish are asking questions about technological determinism that matter for the outside world too, namely can humans tame technology, or does it control our destiny? Even the Amish are struggling to find an answer. They say cars isolate believers spatially and socially from one another and are therefore to be rejected, as are televisions with their negative worldly influences. Smartphones also spread these, but they simultaneously serve communication – which is desirable. Blank shrugs. He does not allow his 20-year-old son's smartphone in the house but tolerates it outside as a kind of teaching tool. "We are not saints, but just normal people like you," he says. What have I learned? Surprisingly, by the second day, I only miss my phone for making calls. Technology seems to be optional – but probably only for a holiday. Who needs a smartphone for distraction when there is something new to discover? But abstaining in everyday life does not seem realistic to me, especially when even the Amish cannot manage a complete digital fast. I go to the kitchen cupboard, take out my phone and vow before leaving that I shall incorporate at least some of my digital detox into my daily life. I am not so attracted by the photo of the flowers on my screen any more, I realise. – dpa/Tribune News Service
Scottish Sun
09-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Scottish Sun
I was raised Amish – young couples sleep separated by wooden boards but my sister has 7 kids despite being ‘on the pill'
Including why dating couples are separated by a wooden board in the bedroom DIFFERENT LIFE I was raised Amish – young couples sleep separated by wooden boards but my sister has 7 kids despite being 'on the pill' STIFLED by the strict rules that had her sneaking around, one woman escaped her Amish community at 17 - and has since spilled the beans on what her ultra-conservative upbringing was really like. Born into the Swartzentruber Amish sect in rural Michigan, Naomi Swartzentruber, now 44, had to follow strict rules regarding everything - from the way she dressed to whom she could talk to. 5 Naomi Swartzentruber, now 44, was forced to leave her education behind to cook, clean, and do household chores full-time Credit: Naomi Swartzentruber/instagram 5 After leaving the community behind aged 17, she ended up finding excitement and confidence as an exotic dancer and kept doing it for the next 20 years Credit: Naomi Swartzentruber 5 The mum-of-one, who quit her stripper career around the pandemic, has been very vocal about the hardships of growing up Amish Credit: Naomi Swartzentruber/instagram Having now been out of the strict world for almost three decades, Naomi has detailed the hardships of growing up Amish, which also included no regular loo roll and waking up at 5am to help on the farm at just five. By the time she was 14, school was no longer considered a priority and instead Naomi was forced to leave her education behind to cook, clean, and do household chores full-time. ''There wasn't much time for play - and we had to dress modestly. When I asked my parents why we had to dress and work, they said it was 'just our way','' she told Mail Online. Fast-forward to now, the former Amish has spoken about what really went on behind closed doors whilst she was still living in the community - home to more than 370,000 people in the world. As an Amish, she recently shared with LADBible, you have to follow a set of very strict rules known as Ordnung. The guidelines regulate everything - from the way you dress to even the farming equipment the households use - and there's punishment if you don't abide by their way of life. ''If you are baptised and you break the rules, you get shunned - sometimes for four weeks, five or six weeks. It depends on what you did.'' To be accepted back, the rule-breakers would have to admit that what they did was wrong, before begging for forgiveness. One of the biggest sins an Amish could make is dating an English person - a term the community uses for non-Amish people - which Naomi did when she was a teenager. Unbeknown to her at the time, exploring her desires and sneaking out to see the boys is what eventually set her free. I ran away from the strictest Amish community – we didn't have indoor plumbing but people could learn a lot from them The consequences of watching porn While Naomi became a stripper to make ends meet after leaving the community, those she left behind still had to abide by the rules - which also meant no porn. While those who got caught after being baptised would get shunned, the ramifications for those under the age of 18 were different. If they were 18 and not baptised, and if they were already going to the singing, the teenagers would have to skip the ceremony a couple of times. Amish singing is a cappella hymns sung in German by the Amish community during religious services and other gatherings, and they're key for reinforcing their identity, history, and connection to their faith. Who are the Amish and what are their beliefs? The Amish are a group of people who follow the teachings of Jacob Ammann, a 17th century citizen from Switzerland. It is a Protestant denomination, closely related to the Mennonites. The Amish, most of whom live in the US, follow simple customs and refuse to take oaths, vote, or perform military service. They shun modern technology and conveniences. Transportation for the Amish is by horses and buggy. The man usually wear beards and trousers with buttons instead of zippers. The women wear white head coverings and plan dresses, usually without buttons - they use straight pins to fasten the clothing. Couples separated by a wooden board When it comes to sex before marriage, the worshippers are very strict - it's ''a big no-no'', Naomi said in the interview. One of the most intriguing Amish rituals has to do with dating couples and the bedroom. It's the practice of ''bundling'', which takes place during courtship. Ironically, it's only the most conservative Old Order Amish communities that still do this, as per Amish Rules. Bundling entails spending the night together, in bed but fully clothed. Sometimes, the young lovebirds will also be separated by a wooden board in the middle of the bed. Even a cheeky smooch isn't allowed during this practice, but while this courtship bedroom ritual may seem counterintuitive, the Amish believe that ''bundling encourages bonding and teaches restraint''. 5 At 19, her ex-Amish friend brought her to a strip club and she made £40 by dancing Credit: Naomi Swartzentruber 'Nobody ever talked to use about sex' Naturally, Naomi also had very little understanding of how ''babies were made'', being told that a ''stork dropped the baby in a bag down from the sky''. ''Eventually, I figured out that mum was the baby maker because her tummy would get big, and one day there was a baby and her tummy would get smaller. ''But at that point, I didn't know how they got in there - or out - until I was older,'' said Naomi, adding that sex education at school didn't exist. ''Nobody ever talked to use about sex. I just figured it out when I would see the dogs having sex or the animals on the farm. But it's very taboo.'' 'Natural contraception' Traditionally, the Amish people oppose and condemn all birth control methods. The Amish church believes contraception interferes with God's will and natural order. However, there is no religious doctrine about birth control, as Amish ordinances and practices can vary among Amish group, as per Amish Furniture Factory. The household Naomi spent her first 17 years did ''not use contraception''. ''My youngest sister belongs to a church that's less liberal. She doesn't use modern birth control - but she takes these pills that are natural that are supposed to help you not get pregnant all the time. ''But she still has seven kids. ''So I don't know how well they're working,'' the former Amish chuckled. ''But she thinks they work sometimes - and sometimes not.'' 5 Naomi wrote her memoir, The Amazing Adventures of an Amish Stripper Credit: Naomi Swartzentruber Cutting ties from the modern world The ultra-conservative community also limits most technology the rest of the globe would struggle to go a day without - and in most households, TV is also off-limits. ''The strict ones, they use very little technology because they don't want to be tied to the modern world - they try to stay separate from the modern world,'' Naomi said in the bombshell interview. Some of the limited technology that's permitted for use include a battery-operated flashlight, generators to run the washing machine and a table saw. I thought it was real and those people really got shot and hurt Naomi Swartzentruber It wasn't until Naomi was around 15 when she first watched a movie on the TV screen - at an English pal's house, without informing her parents. The experience, she revealed, was traumatic. ''I had nightmares, it was horrible because I thought it was real and those people really got shot and hurt - I was traumatised.'' Even years later, after Naomi had ditched her home and had found new ''people'' who had taken her in, she still struggled with the concept of acting. ''We were watching a movie and there was violence - and it freaked me out and I was like, 'I can't watch this because those people are dying'. ''And they're like, 'It's just a movie'. They had to explain to me that they were acting, that it wasn't happening in real life.'' 'I'm definitely going to run away' ''One Saturday night I got caught when I was almost 17,'' she previously told The Sun. "I always wanted to run away, but I didn't know where I was going to go or when. "After I got caught sneaking out by my parents, I was like, 'That's it. I'm definitely going to run away.' "I didn't want to sneak the rest of my life to have fun." It wasn't until a random weekday morning that she started to figure it out. "One morning, I was picking strawberries and this guy that would deliver logs to my dad's farm came to the garden when I was there picking them by myself," she explained. A light bulb went off in her head. "I just blurted it out. I was like, 'I want to run away and I want to live with you,'" she said. At first, the man called her crazy and was worried about the wrath of her father. "I was like, 'I don't care. I just need your help. Please help me,'" she added. After Swartzentruber's relentless pleading, he eventually said he would think about it and give her an answer in seven days. As expected, he came back and said she could live with his sick mother who had dialysis three times a week. "Then, it was just finding the right time but it never seemed to come," she said. Exactly a week later, the opportunity presented itself and she ran away with that man in July of 1997. Naomi danced until the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, which started her venture into content creation and a popular TikTok account. Now, she's a book author who lives with her long-term partner and is the mother of a baby girl. Her memoir, The Amazing Adventures of an Amish Stripper: An Erotic Memoir, £12, details her ups and downs and is available on Amazon.
The Irish Sun
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
I was raised Amish – young couples sleep separated by wooden boards but my sister has 7 kids despite being ‘on the pill'
STIFLED by the strict rules that had her sneaking around, one woman escaped her Amish community at 17 - and has since spilled the beans on what her ultra-conservative upbringing was really like. Born into the Swartzentruber Amish sect in rural 5 Naomi Swartzentruber, now 44, was forced to leave her education behind to cook, clean, and do household chores full-time Credit: Naomi Swartzentruber/instagram 5 After leaving the community behind aged 17, she ended up finding excitement and confidence as an exotic dancer and kept doing it for the next 20 years Credit: Naomi Swartzentruber 5 The mum-of-one, who quit her stripper career around the pandemic, has been very vocal about the hardships of growing up Amish Credit: Naomi Swartzentruber/instagram Having now been out of the strict world for almost three decades, Naomi has detailed the hardships of growing up Amish, which also included no regular loo roll and waking up at 5am to help on the farm at just five. By the time she was 14, ''There wasn't much time for play - and we had to dress modestly. When I asked my parents why we had to dress and work, they said it was 'just our way','' Fast-forward to now, the former Amish has spoken about what really went on behind closed doors whilst she was still living in the community - home to more than 370,000 people in the world. read more on real life As an Amish, she recently shared with The guidelines regulate everything - from the way you dress to even the farming equipment the households use - and there's punishment if you don't abide by their way of life. ''If you are baptised and you break the rules, you get shunned - sometimes for four weeks, five or six weeks. It depends on what you did.'' To be accepted back, the rule-breakers would have to admit that what they did was wrong, before begging for forgiveness. Most read in Fabulous One of the biggest sins an Amish could make is dating an English person - a term the community uses for non-Amish people - which Naomi did when she was a teenager. Unbeknown to her at the time, exploring her desires and sneaking out to see the boys is what eventually set her free. I ran away from the strictest Amish community – we didn't have indoor plumbing but people could learn a lot from them The consequences of watching porn While Naomi became a stripper to make ends meet after leaving the community, those she left behind still had to abide by the rules - which also meant no While those who got caught after being baptised would get shunned, the ramifications for those under the age of 18 were different. If they were 18 and not baptised, and if they were already going to the singing, the teenagers would have to skip the ceremony a couple of times. Amish singing is a cappella hymns sung in German by the Amish community during religious services and other gatherings, and they're key for reinforcing their identity, history, and connection to their faith. Who are the Amish and what are their beliefs? The Amish are a group of people who follow the teachings of Jacob Ammann, a 17th century citizen from Switzerland. It is a Protestant denomination, closely related to the Mennonites. The Amish, most of whom live in the US, follow simple customs and refuse to take oaths, vote, or perform military service. They shun modern technology and conveniences. Transportation for the Amish is by horses and buggy. The man usually wear beards and trousers with buttons instead of zippers. The women wear white head coverings and plan dresses, usually without buttons - they use straight pins to fasten the clothing. Couples separated by a wooden board When it comes to One of the most intriguing Amish rituals has to do with dating couples and the bedroom. It's the practice of ''bundling'', which takes place during courtship. Ironically, it's only the most conservative Old Order Amish communities that still do this, as per Bundling entails spending the night together, in bed but fully clothed. Sometimes, the young lovebirds will also be separated by a wooden board in the middle of the bed. Even 5 At 19, her ex-Amish friend brought her to a strip club and she made £40 by dancing Credit: Naomi Swartzentruber 'Nobody ever talked to use about sex' Naturally, Naomi also had very little understanding of how ''babies were made'', being told that a ''stork dropped the ''Eventually, I figured out that mum was the baby maker because her ''But at that point, I didn't know how they got in there - or out - until I was older,'' said Naomi, adding that sex education at school didn't exist. ''Nobody ever talked to use about sex. I just figured it out when I would see the 'Natural contraception' Traditionally, the Amish people oppose and condemn all The Amish church believes contraception interferes with God's will and natural order. However, there is no religious doctrine about birth control, as Amish ordinances and practices can vary among Amish group, as per The household Naomi spent her first 17 years did '' ''My youngest sister belongs to a church that's less liberal. She doesn't use modern birth control - but she takes these pills that are natural that are supposed to help you not get pregnant all the time. ''But she still has seven kids. ''So I don't know how well they're working,'' the former Amish chuckled. ''But she thinks they work sometimes - and sometimes not.'' 5 Naomi wrote her memoir, The Amazing Adventures of an Amish Stripper Credit: Naomi Swartzentruber Cutting ties from the modern world The ultra-conservative community also limits most ''The strict ones, they use very little technology because they don't want to be tied to the modern world - they try to stay separate from the modern world,'' Naomi said in the bombshell interview. Some of the limited technology that's permitted for use include a battery-operated flashlight, generators to run the washing machine and a table saw. I thought it was real and those people really got shot and hurt Naomi Swartzentruber 44 It wasn't until Naomi was around 15 when she first watched a movie on the TV screen - at an English pal's house, without informing her parents. The experience, she revealed, was traumatic. ''I had nightmares, it was horrible because I thought it was real and those people really got shot and hurt - I was traumatised.'' Even years later, after Naomi had ditched her home and had found new ''people'' who had taken her in, she still struggled with the concept of acting. ''We were watching a movie and there was violence - and it freaked me out and I was like, 'I can't watch this because those people are dying'. ''And they're like, 'It's just a movie'. They had to explain to me that they were acting, that it wasn't happening in real life.'' 'I'm definitely going to run away' ''One Saturday night I got caught when I was almost 17,'' she previously told The Sun. "I always wanted to run away, but I didn't know where I was going to go or when. "After I got caught "I didn't want to sneak the rest of my life to have fun." It wasn't until a random weekday morning that she started to figure it out. "One morning, I was picking strawberries and this guy that would deliver logs to my dad's farm came to the A light bulb went off in her head. "I just blurted it out. I was like, 'I want to run away and I want to live with you,'" she said. At first, the man called her crazy and was worried about the wrath of her father. "I was like, 'I don't care. I just need your help. Please help me,'" she added. After Swartzentruber's relentless pleading, he eventually said he would think about it and give her an answer in seven days. As expected, he came back and said she could live with his sick mother who had dialysis three times a week. "Then, it was just finding the right time but it never seemed to come," she said. Exactly a week later, the opportunity presented itself and she ran away with that man in July of 1997. Naomi danced until the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, which started her venture into content creation and a popular Now, she's a book author who lives with her long-term partner and is the mother of a baby girl. Her memoir,
