Featured Galleries

Postcards : My own creation of postcards from Ohio Amish country, mostly Holmes and Wayne counties. Taken during the summers of 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. These postcards are copyrighted. Everyone asks “Isn’t taking photographs of the Amish against their religion?” Answer — NO, it’s not against an Amish person’s religion to be photographed. The Amish religion does, however, prohibit POSING for photographs.. If you ask an Amish person for permission to take their picture, they will politely say no, as this could be construed as a willingness to “pose.” Most of my Amish friends say they could care less if people take their picture ... provided the photographers are respectful. Many have recounted stories of tourists driving up their driveway and boldly walking onto their front lawn to take a photograph. One woman recalled a time when a tourist stopped her buggy and held the reins of the horse until his wife could get a photo! Horror stories like these aren’t the norm, but keep in mind a few disrespectful photographers can generate a great deal of bad feeling within the Amish community. Quoted from Amish Heartland July 2007 A Guide to Photographing the Amish by Wade Wilcox

Postcards

My own creation of postcards from Ohio Amish country, mostly Holmes an ...

Updated: Sep 17, 2007 1:33pm PST

Ohio Swartzentruber Amish : In 1913 the Swartzentruber Amish split from the True Old Order Amish to become more rigid and strict. They believed the Old Order was much too modern. The Swartzentrubers do not recognize the other different Amish churches as being true Christians. This order of Amish are probably the most interesting because of the way they live their lives. They do however, have a not so good reputation as being strict diciplinarians. Some call them the "Hillbillies of the Amish" because of their relative primitive lifestyle. According to Darren Byler "The Geography of Difference”, behind their backs, the Swartzentrubers are called gnuddel vullahs, or "wooly lumps," by the Old Order Amish. According to several Amish and Mennonite sources, this is said because, when the Swartzentrubers milk their cows by hand, their long hair and beards gather lumps of manure, dirt and grim from their cows – resulting in matted and lumpy clumps of hair. Because many take baths once per week or less particularly during the winter, due to the time-consuming task of heating water on a stove heated by coal or wood, some Swartzentrubers develop a certain earthy smell and at times their hair care is reminiscent of Rastafarians. In general, the Swartzentrubers are seen by other members of the Amish community as dirty people who "think they will find salvation by not taking baths." This is a blatant misconception in the eyes of the Swartzentrubers. There are an estimated 2,800-3,000 Swartzentruber Amish in southern Wayne and Northern Holmes Counties. They have very few modern conveniences in their homes and most still have no running water and almost all still use outhouses. Most of the farms are identifiable because they seem to be run down and in need of paint and not neatly kept like most Amish farms. I expect that a lot of the cause for that is that their workload is so great that they have little free time for that type upkeep. The bathing of a family alone is laborious when the family contains anywhere from 6 to 14 children. This easily explains why they bathe usually only once a week. Old Order and other Amish orders are allowed to ride in automobiles and vans and many pay this form of transportation for trips to shops and stores that are really too far for the buggy. The large 15 passenger vans seen throughout Amish country are known as "Yoder Toters". The Swartzentrubers however are not allowed to use automobiles or vans EXCEPT for emergencies, normally only medical emergencies. They are allowed to use commercial buses or trains for visits to family long distances away. Because they must use their buggies for trips that are much farther than normal, most use a two horse hitch which makes those distances and long hills much easier. Most of the detailed information in this album is quoted from David Yoders book Amish Deception, in the chapter on "Swartzentruber Amish Ordung"....(note: Ordung or "Book of Order" is the rules of the church district in which they live that they must abide by). From the information I have discovered, it appears that no two church districts have exactly the same Ordung. It is a very secret and sacred, almost always unwritten but understood document.

Ohio Swartzentruber Amish

In 1913 the Swartzentruber Amish split from the True Old Order Amish t ...

Updated: Jan 27, 2007 11:32am PST

Gallery Categories

Ohio Amish

32 galleries with 2513 photos

Updated: Sep 17, 2007 1:33pm PST

Cars

8 galleries with 1002 photos

Updated: Aug 18, 2007 6:23pm PST

Boats

4 galleries with 541 photos

Updated: Mar 24, 2006 12:04pm PST

Airplanes

11 galleries with 593 photos

Updated: May 17, 2005 1:41pm PST

Landscapes

8 galleries with 434 photos

Updated: Jan 06, 2006 9:28am PST

Animals

6 galleries with 208 photos

Updated: Jul 04, 2006 9:37am PST

Nature

3 galleries with 205 photos

Updated: Jun 09, 2005 2:33pm PST

Events

3 galleries with 74 photos

Updated: Aug 03, 2007 11:32am PST

Photography

3 galleries with 177 photos

Updated: May 12, 2005 10:50am PST

Flowers

3 galleries with 229 photos

Updated: May 11, 2005 1:31pm PST

Architecture

2 galleries with 87 photos

Updated: Aug 23, 2005 12:48pm PST

Street Scenes

1 gallery with 134 photos

Updated: Aug 04, 2005 6:33am PST

Woodworking

1 gallery with 43 photos

Updated: May 13, 2005 10:14am PST

Family

13 galleries with 914 photos

Updated: May 12, 2005 11:36am PST

Genealogy

8 galleries with 324 photos

Updated: May 12, 2005 11:11am PST

History

10 galleries with 598 photos

Updated: Aug 23, 2005 11:57am PST

Vacation

7 galleries with 781 photos

Updated: Feb 28, 2007 12:21pm PST

Trains

1 gallery with 17 photos

Updated: Jul 29, 2005 3:55pm PST

Groups

2 galleries with 100 photos

Updated: Nov 11, 2007 4:37pm PST

Business

5 galleries with 304 photos

Updated: Apr 12, 2007 5:13am PST

Other

5 galleries with 243 photos

Updated: Dec 30, 2007 12:25pm PST

DogwoodGrove

5 galleries with 642 photos

Updated: Jul 05, 2008 6:11am PST