FRIDAY, JUNE 8
From the Susquehanna to the Mississippi:
Linguistic Consequences of Pa. Amish Settlements
Steven Hartman Keiser
In this paper I investigate dialect contact between two geographically adjacent yet dialectally and ethnoreligiously distinct speech islands of Pennsylvania German speakers.
The major dialectal isoglosses for the Pennsylvania German language divide Pennsylvania from the Midwest. Since the 1990s, however, Amish from Pennsylvania have founded a number of new settlements in Midwestern states. These new settlements tend to be geographically isolated from historic Midwestern Amish settlements and remain culturally oriented toward Pennsylvania.
However, a Pennsylvania Amish settlement in Wisconsin borders directly on a Midwestern Amish settlement. I analyze data from interviews in these two settlements in order to ascertain the direction of emergent dialect convergence phenomena. This study cautiously marks a new era in Pennsylvania German dialectology, one in which regional dialect norms may be in flux as distinct Amish ethnoreligious identities are renegotiated in these settlements.
Steven Hartman Keiser, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of linguistics at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Attitudes toward Amish Bilingualism in Big Valley
Joshua Brown and Richard Page
Pennsylvania’s Kishacoquillas Valley, commonly referred to as Big Valley, is home to what may be the most diverse Anabaptist community in the world. The first Amish settlers arrived in the valley in 1791 and their descendants now belong to approximately twelve different Anabaptist groups ranging from three Old Order Amish fellowships to fully assimilated Mennonites. Historically, all of these communities were bilingual, speaking both Pennsylvania German and English while using German for worship. In the valley today, all Anabaptists other than the Older Order Amish have shifted or are in the process of shifting to English monolingualism.
In this paper, we discuss language attitudes held toward Amish bilingualism by members of other Anabaptist groups. Our findings are based on oral history interviews with members of different Anabaptist groups on language, cultural, societal, and religious change. Previous studies on language attitudes in distinctively Pennsylvania German communities show that Old Order Amish themselves rate the language positively. Research indicates that nonsectarian communities of Pennsylvania German descent have even more positive attitudes. In contrast, we encountered a range of negative attitudes toward Amish bilingualism among other Anabaptists.
Joshua R. Brown is a graduate student in German at The Pennsylvania State University.
B. Richard Page is director of the program in linguistics and acting head of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures at The Pennsylvania State University.
The Impact of Occupational Change
on Language Maintenance
Marie Qvarnstrom
Separatism gives the Old Order Amish their identity. Together with horse-and-buggy transportation and distinctive clothing, the Pennsylvania German dialect has been one of the main components of this separateness. It is spoken at home and while working out in the fields alongside members of the family, friends and neighbors in a very close-knit structure. This close-knit network has contributed to the maintenance of Pennsylvania German and thus also the distinct identity of the Older Order Amish.
However, the loss of farming opportunities and the necessity for economic survival has forced many Old Order Amish, especially in larger settlements like Lancaster County, to find work in small businesses or elsewhere. Many of them work together with “the English,” forcing them to converse in English more frequently than before. They also “bring English home” with them after work.
Does this increase in English, spoken not only in the workplace but in domains that were previously exclusively reserved to Pennsylvania German, pose a threat to the core identity of what it means to be Amish? In this paper I examine this matter, using data collected through formal and informal interviews with the Old Order Amish in Lancaster County.
Marie Y. Qvarnstrom, M.A., is a student in the doctoral program in German/Linguistics at The Pennsylvania State University.
Preventive Health Screenings
for Old Order Mennonite Women
Nancy Caruso and Joni Forman
Collaboration between agencies and community members helped women in the Old Order Mennonite community obtain free mammograms. This group has no health insurance and generally does not seek preventive health care.
A need was identified after a young woman in this group died of breast cancer. Community health nurses approached the local hospital’s Center for Breast Health, the American Cancer Society and a Mennonite lay midwife with the idea of providing free mammograms for this group. A program was established that allowed women to receive a voucher for a free mammogram. Advertisement was accomplished through two local fabric businesses which cater to Mennonite women and also through an article in the local Amish/Mennonite newspaper. The project was successful. Forty mammograms were done with ten women referred for further evaluation.
The response to this initiative demonstrated that there was definitely a need for mammogram screenings among this population. The inclusion of two Mennonite women in the planning stages was essential in making the program a success because that fostered a level of trust between the healthcare providers and the Old Order Mennonite community.
Nancy Caruso, R.N., is a community health nurse with the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Union County State Health Center in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
Joni Forman, R.N., is a community health nurse with the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Union County State Health Center in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
Amish Community Health Screenings
Michelle Dincher
Annually, Susquehanna Health System of Williamsport, Pa., partners with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to provide a day of health screenings for the Amish community in northcentral Pennsylvania. A mobile unit travels with staff and supplies to an Amish home for the event. Free services offered that day include blood pressure checks, blood glucose, blood cholesterol, hemoccult, vaccinations (Td, Tdap, and Pneumovax), peripheral arterial screening, breast exams, hearing screening, dental evaluations, vision evaluations, stroke screening, and diabetes counseling. Blood screening for PSA and TSH are offered for a discounted price. A family practice physician is on site for consultations. The Amish gather willingly for this day of health education and screening. This day of health screenings provides a valuable service to this vulnerable population that may not seek traditional medical care. The event serves a dual purpose of socialization and screening and is well attended.
Michele Dincher, R.N., B.S.N., is an immunization nurse consultant, Northcentral District, Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Providing Culturally Competent Healthcare
for the Old Order Amish
Linda L. Graham
The presentation of an Old Order Amish patient in a healthcare setting is hardly unique. Still, even a crossculturally skilled practitioner may be unaware of the sect-based expectations of this Plain People group. This presentation focuses on a pragmatic intervention model that will analyze Amish religious beliefs and the cultural beliefs that stem from them, as they impact healthcare practices.
Healthcare providers are perhaps most unfamiliar with the Amish collective cultural pattern that arises in their separation from the world, and its importance in problem-solving, decision-making, and planning. This presentation includes discussion of alternative and complementary therapies common to the Amish community, technological considerations that overlap medical and nursing care, and the qualities of a healthcare professional perceived as important/essential by the Amish patient and family. Issues of communication with Amish patients are a concern in the healthcare setting, and will be addressed as a focus of attention. The presentation also emphasizes the diversity of Old Order thought life, despite the similarity of the Ordnung, and the need for healthcare professionals to become knowledgeable about the Amish in the communities in which they serve.
Linda L. Graham, M.S.N., is an associate professor of nursing at Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Transforming Farm Safety Resources
to Save Amish Children
Shari Burgus, Amy Hunter, Kay Moyer
Most Anabaptists live a lifestyle very closely associated with an agrarian society of the past and may be at greater risk of injury than other farm families. They have chosen a lifestyle that lends itself to using equipment with few modern safety features. The children play a large role in the farming process, working alongside their parents. These lifestyle and farming practices influence the type and severity of injuries that occur to children and their families.
In 2006, a magnetic farm-scene hazard-hunt program originally developed by Farm Safety 4 Just Kids was adapted for the Anabaptist population. The program was piloted in five locations. A book containing lesson plans was developed to teach farm safety to the Anabaptist population. Over fifty magnetic images were produced to complement the lesson plans.
Project creation and adoption emphasized the importance of having connections with local people when planning and implementing programs.
Shari Burgus is the education director of Farm Safety 4 Just Kids in Earlham, Iowa.
Amy Hunter works with Carle Rural Health and Safety in Urbana, Illinois.
Kay Moyer is a safety nurse educator with The Pennsylvania State University Extension office in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Binational Injury Surveillance System
for Old Order Populations
Paul Jones and William Field
Due to their unique socioreligious beliefs and practices, such as a high level of contact with animals and distinctive farming technologies, Old Order Anabaptist communities face unusual risk factors and sources of injury within their populations. However, no effective surveillance system that gauges the nature and scope of such injuries has existed because of difficulties and inconsistencies in injury data collection. In addition, traditional injury data typically do not distinguish Old Order Anabaptists from the rest of the population.
Given the lack of conventional data sources on Old Order injuries, the authors turned to a group of Old Order publications that contain abundant information on injuries. This paper discusses the development and implementation of a data collection system based on the writings of Old Order “scribes” and addresses the strengths and weaknesses of relying on reports from these writers.
Paul J. Jones is the manager of Breaking New Ground Resource Center in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University.
William E. Field, Ed.D., is Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University.
A Profile of Old Order Agriculture-Related
Childhood Injuries
Jerene Gilliam, William Field, Paul Jones
Preliminary studies suggest that farm-related injuries and fatalities may be an increasing problem among Old Order Anabaptist children, thus posing the need for a better understanding of causative factors which could then contribute to the design of more effective intervention strategies.
This study used a non-traditional injury surveillance process utilizing Old Order Anabaptist regional and national newspapers to expand Purdue’s Old Order Anabaptist Injury Database to develop a baseline of Old Order agriculture-related childhood injury data for 2002 and analyze it in reference to specific causative factors. Using this approach, 217 agriculture-related fatal and non-fatal injuries were identified during 2002 among Old Order children under the age of 18.
Based upon the findings of this study, recommendations were developed for culturally sensitive intervention strategies for possible adoption in Old Order communities. The recommendations focus specifically on resources and actions for each group involved as well as possible topics for further research.
Jerene Gilliam Kunkler is a 4-H youth livestock specialist with Purdue University’s Scott County Extension office.
William E. Field is Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University.
Paul J. Jones is the manager of Breaking New Ground Resource Center at Purdue University.
The Amish as Poster Children
for Alternative Approaches to Technology
Paul Heidebrecht
One of the most distinctive and visible features of Amish life is the conscientious engagement of technology. In this paper I will argue that this engagement provides an increasingly profound witness to countercultural values at a time when the pace of technological change in North America continues to accelerate. Supporting evidence can be found in the reflections on technology offered by several contemporary theologians, philosophers, historians, and social critics. These authors point to the Amish in order to demonstrate how technology can serve rather than determine the needs and values of individuals, communities, or the environment.
A key question that motivates this study is the extent to which the religious values of the Amish are recognized as playing a necessary role in their approach to technology. Is something missing in attempts by admirers to promote, adopt, or translate the technological practices of the Amish?
Paul C. Heidebrecht, M.A., is a Ph.D. candidate in religious studies at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Innovation within Tradition:
Old Order Greenhouse Technology and Church Standards
Judson Reid
Despite popular conception, Old Order communities actively adapt modern technology to fit within their church standards. Old Orders even create technologies that ”English” people later adopt. Instead of cultural erosion, careful selection and innovation within agriculture are credited with church retention and growth. The example of greenhouse technology will be used to illustrate these concepts. Advances in greenhouse production, from structure design, ventilation, marketing techniques and unparalleled peer-support networks are examples.
The greenhouse is seen as an emerging enterprise by Old Orders and capitalizes on internal values such as family labor and work ethic. The greenhouse itself can be viewed as a vehicle for transmission of cultural values between generations. Quotes from published Old Order sources, interviews, agricultural statistics, and photographs will map the intersection of Ordnung and optimum greenhouse management in the twenty-first century. Cultural manifestations in production techniques and comparisons between church groups will be included.
Judson Reid, M.P.S., is Extension Associate, Cornell Vegetable Program, Penn Yan, New York.
The Lantern and the Laptop:
Contrasting Views of Technology
Christine Finn
The paper compares two seemingly disparate groups—the Amish and the future chasers of the last five decades in Silicon Valley, California—based on the author’s research in the Bay Area during the dot-com boom and bust, and later investigations in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, talking with Amish inventors about their own take on innovative technologies.
There are unexpected similarities between the West Coast tech pioneers who founded the age of the personal computer, and the innovative Amish who have to make the most of the technology available to them in the context of their beliefs.
Christine Finn, F.S.A., is Honorary Research Fellow and Writer-In-Residence, J.B. Priestley Library, University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
A History of Amish Summer Meetings
Mark Dewalt
This paper will document the history of the Amish summer teachers’ meetings beginning with the first such meeting in 1954. Documenting where and when each meeting was held, the approximate number of attendees, and the topics discussed, this paper will examine the dramatic growth in these gatherings. In addition to descriptive data, the paper will discuss the importance of these meetings to the responsibility the Amish take for their schools.
Data for this project have been gleaned from the archives at the Heritage Historical Library in Aylmer, Ontario, Blackboard Bulletin, The Diary, The Budget, as well as through informants within the Amish community.
Mark W. Dewalt, Ph.D., is Director of Graduate Studies, College of Education, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina.
An Analysis of Blackboard Bulletin
Chiho Oyabu
Amish education plays a major role in maintaining their society. Blackboard Bulletin is the journal used by the community to share information on topics related to education.
An analysis of Blackboard Bulletin from 1959 through 2004 shows changes in authorship of articles and the importance of various topics.
Shifting emphases on educational matters, stories, poems, news, games, advertisements, educational methods and development of students will be highlighted.
Chiho Oyabu, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Home Economics, Gifu University, Yanagido, Gifu, Japan.
An Ethnographic Study
of an Old Order Mennonite School
Bonita K. Troxell
A twenty-year period of working with an Old Order Mennonite community as a public school administrator led to the invitation to help them develop a school for several families who had sent their children to public school and had become concerned about the increase in technology and changes in bussing. This opportunity led to a formal study of the changes taking place in the community and the process the families went through to develop a viable one-room school.
The primary methods in developing this study were interview, observation, participant observation, and document analysis. By understanding the culture, the background for the origin of the school, and an awareness of how the school functions, this study explored the formation and function of a school focusing on the theme of moral development and practical instruction. A modern-day look at a nineteenth century one-room school provided an opportunity to observe one of the significant Old Order Mennonite social structures that contributes to the maintenance of the integrity of a unique culture. An understanding of the Old Order Mennonite community’s interpretation of moral education in a school they established to remove children from the public education system provided information that is rarely accessed.
Bonita K. Troxell, Ed.D., is Curriculum Coordinator, Central Columbia School District, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.
Who Are the Real Amish?
New Identities, Growing Diversity
Steven M. Nolt
Popular images of the Amish, and even many scholarly works, have often produced homogenized versions of Old Order identity. Yet as more studies appear, it is clear that the Amish are anything but a singular people without history or ethnicity, and suspended above local contexts. This presentation will survey the main contours of Amish diversity, recognizing not only men who milk cows by hand, but also women more at home behind a Wal-Mart shopping cart than around a quilting frame. As well, external factors, such as government recognition and media imagery, increasingly texture Amish culture in diverse ways. The complex comparative picture of Amish life that emerges raises new questions, including how the Amish situate themselves in it, and what, if any, commonality exists amid differences. Having considered a world of diversity, we propose thinking about Amish unity in terms of a community of cultural conversation.
Steven M. Nolt, Ph.D., is an associate professor of history at Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana.
The New Order Amish:
Spiritual Renewal Within Tradition
G.C. Waldrep
Since the religious upheavals of the mid-nineteenth century, the vast majority of spiritual renewal efforts among the Amish have resulted in movements away from Amish identity, polity, and practice. Since the 1960s, however, at least three major renewal efforts have occurred explicitly among the Amish: the informal movement represented by Pathway Publishing and its constituency; the Christian Community effort led by Elmo Stoll; and the New Order Amish. The net result of these and other, smaller movements has been a much wider spectrum of Amish doctrine and practice in 2007 than had been the case in 1960. This paper will outline the history and influence of one of these three movements, the fellowship circle known as the New Order Amish.
“Plain and Frum”:
Comparative Cultural Analysis of the Amish and Hasidim
Simon Bronner
A scan of bibliographies of Amish scholarship shows hardly any comparison to other groups, or if there is comparison it tends to be to other Christian Anabaptist and Pietist groups. Yet arguably the other main tradition-centered religious group in America who has maintained separation from the world while remaining in it is the Hasidim.
The academic basis of making this comparison is that Amish scholarship, without comparative analysis to other tradition-centered groups, overestimates the unique aspects of the Amish; with comparison, generalizations may be posited about the social process of maintaining tradition in a modernizing society.
Of special interest is the location of the community, since the Hasidim have been called “urban villagers,” while it has been assumed that such tradition-centered groups such as the Amish need rural isolation in order to thrive. The Hasidim are pietistic (frum in Yiddish, a dialect comparable to Pennsylvania German which the Amish use), have strictures of dress, mitzvot, or commandments comparable to the Amish Ordnung, and Central European roots. They have also struggled internally with denominational schism and taming of technology.
Simon J. Bronner, Ph.D., is Distinguished University Professor of American Studies and Folklore, and director of the Center for Pennsylvania Culture Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, in Middletown, Pennsylvania.
A Comparative Survey
of Iowa Amish, Mennonites, and Dutch Calvinists
Peter Ester and Michael Yoder
Cultural boundary maintenance is a permanent challenge to orthodox religious subcultures, particularly in highly individualized and secularized modern societies. Being “in” but not “of” the world is essential in how these subcultures define their relation to the larger society. But how do the Amish compare in this respect to other conservative religious communities, to other cultures of principles?
In this paper we present the major findings from a unique Iowa survey on religious and secular attitudes of the Amish compared to two other orthodox religious groups: Mennonites and Dutch (Christian) Reformed. The study—based on a mailed questionnaire—was conducted among adults of two strong ethnoreligious Iowa communities, the heavily Dutch Reformed Orange City community and the heavily Amish and Mennonite Kalona community. Historically and theologically these two American Reformed (Calvinist) churches—just like their Anabaptist relatives—also kept the world at a distance, at least in their early days in the New World. In this sense these Dutch immigrant churches are highly interesting comparison groups.
Overall, our findings provide a very coherent picture with high intra-group consistency of religious and societal beliefs. Using an analysis of correspondence, a two-dimensional space is observed, including a first dimension representing the group’s emphasis on internal purity and a second dimension representing the group’s willingness to reach out to the larger society. The Amish results place them on one side of the most extreme position on both dimensions: combining a high commitment to purity and a low commitment to societal involvement.
Peter Ester, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology at Tilburg University, the Netherlands.
Michael Yoder, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology at Northwestern College in Iowa.
The Discovery of the Amish
by Japanese University Students
Nanami Suzuki
The popular image of the Amish people as entertained by Japanese people has been developed mainly through photographs of beautiful rural scenery, an Amish brand of cookies, Aunt Stella’s Cookies, and a suspense movie starring Harrison Ford, Witness. We often carry a nostalgic image of the Amish as a people living in a static society and persisting in traditional ways.
Such an image has been changed greatly, however, through our fieldwork experiences in Pennsylvania and Ohio since 1999, with trips arranged for university students. In this paper, I will report on what we have learned about the Amish way of life and its meaning today.
The “Amish” actually consist of several diverse groups, divided by their religious and humanistic beliefs. The people of each group have reconciled their faith with the contemporary circumstances in American society in different eras. The Amish have not always shut themselves up within their own closed world, but instead continue to communicate with the outside world to carry out their duties and achieve their dreams.
Nanami Suzuki, Ph.D., National Institutes for the Humanities, National Museum of Ethnology, Nishinotoindori, Sanjosagaru, Nakagyoku, Kyoto, Japan.
Medical Genetic Studies in Amish Populations
Harold E. Cross and Andrew H. Crosby
The Old Order Amish and related Anabaptist groups have been subjects of extensive medical genetic studies for nearly 50 years. These have generally been population-based, care-based, or proband-based, resulting in the detection of nearly 100 single-gene disorders, many of them previously unknown. We report on 40 years of genetic studies among the Amish of Holmes County, Ohio, with emphasis on familial neurological conditions. More recently we have initiated similar surveys in Geauga County, Ohio, and in the Northern Indiana communities. Our work is aimed at a complete ascertainment of handicapping conditions, identifying specific presumed heritable disorders, and characterizing the DNA and cellular defects responsible.
The Amish generally avoid commercial health insurance, and as their numbers increase, these conditions are creating serious financial problems. Furthermore, prohibitions against premarital counseling, pharmacologic birth control, and diagnostic amniocentesis make it unlikely that their burden of genetic disease will decrease in the near future. Understanding the molecular basis of genetic diseases we believe offers the best hope of someday preventing and treating these devastating illnesses.
Harold E. Cross, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor and Director of Medical Student Training in the Department of Ophthalmology at University of Arizona College of Medicine.
Andrew H. Crosby, Ph.D., is BDF Newlife Reader in Medical Genetics at St. George’s College, University of London.
Together Drs. Cross and Crosby founded the Windows of Hope project in 2002 to identify heritable disorders of the Amish, first in Holmes County, Ohio, and more recently in Geauga County, Ohio, and northern Indiana.
Attitudes toward Genetic Diseases
in an Amish Community
Heng Wang
Genetic disease is one of the most prominent health issues in Amish communities. Besides providing culturally-sensitive medical services and performing fundamental patient-oriented research, we feel it is equally important to provide genetic knowledge to the community in order to proactively and effectively deal with these diseases.
Very little research has been done to determine the level of knowledge in the Amish community regarding genetic diseases. Therefore, we conducted a survey in an Amish community. The purposes of the survey are threefold, 1) to assess the general knowledge and perception of genetic diseases in affected families and the community, 2) to assess Amish attitudes regarding possible preventive measures (such as prenatal diagnosis, child adoption, carrier testing, genetic counseling, etc.), 3) to determine the most effective means for health information dissemination in the Amish community.
Supported by local bishops, this survey of over 40 questions was completed by 246 Amish adults with approximately half from families directly affected by genetic diseases. The survey results, some expected but some unexpected, are fairly instructive for future work in Amish communities.
The survey is part of Love, Faith, and Family—Amish Genetic Disease Education and Care, a project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Initiative Funding Partners.
Heng Wang, M.D., Ph.D., is Medical Director, DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children, Middlefield, Ohio.
Psychogenic Illness or an “Unclean Ghost”
Joslyn Cassady
In February 2002, federal and state health officials investigated an outbreak of unexplained neurological illness among an Old Order Amish community. Over the course of four weeks, public health officials performed active case finding. They interviewed religious leaders, community members, and local health providers.
Five Amish girls between the ages of 9 and 13 were identified as case-patients. All five patients had voluntary motor deficits, anorexia, and weight loss. Four of five experienced neck weakness, resulting in the inability to hold up their heads. Thorough medical evaluations failed to identify an organic etiology, and evidence for social transmission of symptoms was identified. All five patients met the DSM-IV criteria for conversion disorder. Substantial social conflict within the Amish community preceded illness onset.
This presentation reviews the details of this investigation, as well as explores Amish understandings of this illness. Ultimately this presentation invites us to consider broader questions concerning the relationship between mental illness, culture, and social change.
Joslyn Cassady, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science and Anthropology, Drew University, Madison, New Jersey.
The Expanding Role of the Amish
in America’s Dairy Industry
John Cross
The expansion of Amish settlement over the past quarter century has frequently been focused upon regions where small dairy farms can be purchased at reasonable prices. This paper reviews the role of the Amish in the nation’s dairy industry, drawing upon surveys of county-level agricultural officials and Amish ministers, analyses of dairy producer licenses within three states, settlement histories and employment information within Amish directories, and evaluation of agricultural census data.
Amish dairymen now operate one-eighth of all dairy farms within the United States, albeit typically smaller farms with ten to forty-nine cows. The Amish run nearly 60 percent of the dairy farms in Indiana, and over one-quarter of those in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Since 1970 the number of Amish settlements in Wisconsin grew from six to over forty and that state now has over 900 Amish dairy farms and six Amish cheese factories. Milk sales provide over half of the income for the typical Amish farmer. The number of Amish dairy farmers is expected to rise, not only in Wisconsin, but in several other traditional dairy states including New York and Michigan, even though the proportion of Amish households engaged in dairying nationally is predicted to decline.
John A. Cross, Ph.D., is Associate Dean and Professor of Geography, College of Letters and Science, University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Agronomic Education:
Technology Adoption Among Lancaster’s Amish
Leon Ressler and Jeffrey Graybill
Mainstream America would believe that Amish farming practices have changed little since the turn of the twentieth century. Amish producers are in fact very progressive and innovative. In the areas of soil stewardship and conservation, the rate of Amish adoption of farming practices such as no-till crop production rivals and even exceeds that of many “English” farmers. Considering the Biblical call to stewardship and in light of the various Anabaptist groups’ strong ties to the land, it should not be surprising that many Amish farmers have been instrumental in advancing the adoption of and education related to “conservation” farming practices.
Lancaster County is currently a confluence of forces driving farming practice to no-till crop production. The county is a principal player in Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts that take shape in environmental legislation, state and federal cost share incentives (called BMPs- Best Management Practices), and various environmental organizations all pushing forward “environmentally” friendly farming practices. The majority of Anabaptist farmers will not accept monetary incentives, but many are nevertheless leading the move to no-till farming practices and are highly receptive to educational opportunities in this arena.
The local extension educator is responsible for Penn State’s agronomic education programming in Lancaster County and spearheads much of the training and education in no-till crop production practices with Amish farmers.
Leon Ressler is County Extension Director for Penn State University’s Lancaster County Cooperative Extension.
Jeffrey Graybill, M.S., C.C.A., is Agronomy Extension Educator for Penn State’s Lancaster Cooperative Extension.
Health Status and Health Behaviors of Amish Women
Kirk Miller and Berwood Yost
We conducted personal interviews with 288 Lancaster County Amish women of childbearing age for sociodemographic information and habits and exposures bearing on pregnancy and childbirth, and the number, ages, and birth weights of their children. The data gathered for the sample of Amish women is directly comparable to a sample of 2,002 women living in Central Pennsylvania that was conducted at the same time using the same survey instrument.
Amish women are similar in their health status to other Central Pennsylvania women and have many of the same health conditions. Amish women are less likely to be diagnosed as depressed, and have fewer depressive symptoms, but have approximately the same scores on a measure of mental health status. Amish women are less likely to be overweight. Amish women generally engage in better health behaviors and seem to experience less stress than women in Central Pennsylvania generally. Amish women have fewer low-birth-weight babies than Central Pennsylvania women generally. It is also less likely that an Amish women’s first birth will be LBW. Of women in our survey, most (87%) were married, fewer (28%) were employed full or part-time, almost all had less than a high school education, 62% live on a farm, and almost all drink water from a private well and have relatively high exposures to agricultural chemicals. Women in our survey had more diagnoses of anemia and thyroid problems and fewer diagnoses of hypertension and high cholesterol than Central Pennsylvania women generally. Women in our survey report low levels of intimate partner violence, high levels of social support, and low levels of unfair treatment due to ethnicity or gender. Women in our sample have been pregnant a median of four times and married women in our sample have a median of four children in their households; 52 out of 249 (21%) of women were using birth control.
Berwood Yost is the director of the Floyd Institute for Public Policy and the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Kirk Miller is B. F. Fackenthal, Jr. Professor of Biology and a senior research fellow in the Floyd Institute for Public Policy at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
A Comparison of Cardiovascular Hospitalization Rates
Between Old Order Amish and Non-Amish Caucasians
Magdalena Tolea, Braxton Mitchell, John Sorkin, Jessica Kelly-Moore, Jay Magaziner, Toni Pollin, Wendy Post, Richard Horenstein
Chronic diseases are the main cause of burden of disease in industrialized countries. As a result of changes in lifestyle practice over the past decades, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is now the number one cause of death and the main reason for hospitalization in the U.S.
Most research on CVD has focused on the general population or on racial minorities, but little is known about hospitalization rates for CVD among the Lancaster County Amish, a population with unique lifestyle practices that have hardly changed over the past 250 years. The goal of this cross-sectional study is to estimate the rate of hospitalization for CVD in Amish individuals of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and compare it to those for non-Amish Caucasians. The rate of different in-hospital cardiovascular procedures, as well as the length of hospital stay, the number of co-morbidities and in-hospital CVD case-fatality rates will also be compared between the two populations.
Four hospitals were identified as serving the majority of the Amish study population and IRB approvals were obtained to collect data on their Amish inpatients. The significance of this study is that it provides an updated estimate of the Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and it sheds some light onto the burden of CVD disease and the patterns of hospital service utilization for CVD among this group.
Magdalena I.Tolea is a Ph.D. candidate in Gerontology at University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Braxton D. Mitchell, Ph.D., is Professor of Medicine in the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition at University of Maryland, Baltimore.
John A. Sorkin, M.D., Ph.D., is Assistant Professor and Chief of Biostatistics and Informatics, GRECC, in the School of Medicine at University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Jessic Kelly-Moore, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Sociology at University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Jay Magaziner, Ph.D., is Professor and Director, Division of Gerontology at University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Toni I. Pollin, Ph.D., is Assistant professor of Human Genetics and Genomic Medicine in the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition at University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Wendy Post, M.D., is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Richard B. Horenstein, M.D., is with the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition at University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Cancer-Related Lifestyle Factors:
Amish and Non-Amish in Ohio Appalachia
Mira Katz
A questionnaire focused on diet, physical activity, the use of cancer screening tests, and tobacco and alcohol use was used to examine several cancer-related lifestyle factors among Amish and non-Amish adults living in Ohio Appalachia. Face-to-face interviews were completed with 134 Amish and 154 non-Amish adults for this study.
There were significantly different findings between Amish and non-Amish adults for several of the cancer-related lifestyle factors. The use of tobacco among Amish men was less than non-Amish men; Amish men walked more steps per day compared to non-Amish men, and cancer screening rates were significantly lower among Amish men and women compared to non-Amish men and women.
Several cancer-related lifestyle factors warrant further investigation as factors that may contribute to reduced cancer incidence rates among the Amish.
Mira Katz, Ph.D., M.P.H., is Assistant Professor, Health Behavior and Health Promotion, The School of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
New Educational Programs
for the Holmes County Amish
Darla A. Stitzlein and John G. Roberts
The Holmes County Amish community is a growing, dynamic, and diverse community. In response to a request from this community for educational programs beyond the common eighth-grade graduation, vocational education classes were created.
After a vocational education needs assessment survey was done in this Amish community, a core group—consisting of the Holmes County Amish Advisory Committee, OSU Extension-Holmes County, Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center, and the Holmes County Education Foundation—developed the program and curriculums. The first class started in December 2000. This became the Holmes County Amish Vocational Education Program.
The Amish Vocational Education Program has completed 14 classes with 78 Amish students enrolled. Deacons and bishops have enrolled in the classes, and the age of students ranges from 16 to 72. The classes are evaluated on a continuous basis. We seek input from the program’s Amish class cooperators on a regular basis, and add their thoughts and ideas for better organization and continuous improvement of the Holmes County Amish Vocational Education Program.
Darla Stitzlein is Execuitve Director of the Holmes County Education Foundation.
John Roberts is an associate professor at the Agricultural Technical Institute of the Ohio State University.
Nutrition Education Intervention
for At-Risk Infants and Toddlers Among the Amish
Jane Henderson, Jane Leach, Pat Hanly, Janis Randall Simpson,
Amanda Flanagan and Amanda Ninaber
In 2002-2003, we documented a high prevalence of growth faltering in 28 infants and toddlers in an Amish community. A number of nutrition recommendations were made; however, a complementary counselling and assessment strategy was needed to maximize their impact.
Supported by the Danone Institute of Canada, a nutrition counselling and dietary intervention project began in June 2005 (to June 2007) to assess the impact on growth patterns and nutrition practices of infants and toddlers (n=31). The intervention includes nutrition counselling, growth assessment and monitoring, and nutrition supplements.
To date, of the 31 infants enrolled, 15 have completed the process. Preliminary results suggest that the prevalence of growth faltering has decreased in 2005-2007 compared to the 2002-2003 study.
Jane Henderson, B.A.Sc., is a registered public health dietician with the Perth District Health Unit in Stratford, Ontario.
Jane Leach, B.Sc.N., is a public health nurse with the Perth District Health Unit in Stratford, Ontario.
Pat Hanly is a public health manager with the Perth District Health Unit in Stratford, Ontario.
Janis Randall Simpson, Ph.D., is a registered dietician and assistant professor in the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition at University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario.
Amanda Flanagan and Amanda Ninaber are students at the University of Guelph.
Parochial Prevention:
Tobacco Education with Amish Students
Mark E. Woods
Curricula successfully using the Centers for Disease Control guideline elements have proven effective in tobacco use and addiction prevention. However, these curricula follow a "traditional" model of prevention education. There are a number of problems with a pedagogical structure of this sort within the Amish parochial school and community. These issues are analyzed as the context of the Amish school, student, and curriculum are examined within a community effectiveness model.
This analysis seeks to determine the degree of compatibility between self, community (Amish parochial school, Gemeinde and community) and structure (tobacco prevention education) for both internal and external validity. The goal of this analysis is to assess the effectiveness of “traditional” tobacco prevention within the Amish community, specifically the parochial school. Furthermore, this breakdown will also examine the usefulness of the Amish parochial school as a structure for presenting prevention education to students and the community.
Qualitative data derived through the three-year operation of an Amish-targeted community tobacco-control initiative in rural Wayne and Holmes counties, Ohio, are utilized.
Mark E. Woods, B.A., is Grant Coordinator, Your Human Resource Center, Millersburg, Ohio.
Tourism and Semiotic Understanding
in Shipshewana, Indiana
Valerie Kepner
This presentation documents the connotations of clothing among Amish women in Shipshewana, Indiana, and compares and contrasts these interpretations of symbols with those offered by non-Amish individuals, particularly tourists, in LaGrange County. It attempts to establish the relationship between approaches to biblical hermeneutics and expressed symbolism in Amish communities and to analyze the messages received by those outside of the Amish community who are observing Amish life from a tourist standpoint.
It then explores the effects that the tourist “gaze” has on an Amish semiotics of clothing and notes how the semantics of clothing among Amish women are in flux due to the presence and influence of tourists.
Shifting Images of Lancaster County Amish
in the 1930s and 1940s
Steven Reschly and Katherine Jellison
Four sets of photographs of Amish and related groups in the 1930s and 1940s reveal four different points of view.
The first set, part of the Federal Writer’s Project within the New Deal Works Progress Administration, were published in 1940 and indicate the FWP’s concern for documenting cultures, especially those expected to die out.
The second set continues the documentary impulse of the New Deal, this time through the Farm Security Administration. FSA photographers were assigned the task of gathering information about the historical, sociological, and economic aspects of government relief programs, including Lancaster County.
The third set explores how and why Amish farming communities were functioning effectively and perpetuating themselves during the Great Depression. The photos show interest in the labor of women and children in the farm economy, generational continuity, and market participation as factors in stability.
The fourth set shows a very different sensibility. These were taken to promote Pennsylvania tourism in the post-war 1940s and the images are intended to attract the curious by emphasizing the unusual aspects of Amish culture—horse and buggy, plain clothing, unexpected juxtapositions (Amish in museum, attending a fair), cute children, and, of course, souvenir shopping.
Steven D. Reschly, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of History at Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri.
Katherine Jellison, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of History at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.
Writing Amish Women:
The Fiction of Beverly Lewis and Wanda Brunstetter
Beth Graybill
Beverly Lewis is the foremost writer of Amish-genre fiction. Since 1998, Lewis has written 17 books with Amish characters set in Lancaster County. Lewis’s fiction is popular; last year, three books made the New York Times bestseller lists.
Wanda Brunstetter, author of the “Lancaster Brides” series, also writes Amish women’s fiction. Though less well-known, Brunstetter’s romances are nonetheless top-sellers on the CBA (Christian Booksellers’ of America) lists.
What explains the popularity of these authors? To what extent do they capitalize on Amish tourism? How do their novels create or challenge stereotypes about Amish women?
Lewis’s fans laud her work for “creating a curiosity about the Old Ways of the Amish” and for resonating with those “yearning for a simpler life and a return to traditional values.”
Brunstetter writes Amish fiction to “touch your heart and simplify your life.”
This presentation explores issues of gender and representation in the context of tourism studies, framed by Janet Radway’s analysis of contemporary romance writing and by feminist literary critiques of the genre “sentimental fiction.”
Beth Graybill, M.A., is the director of the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Marvin Kroeker
The first Amish arrived in western Oklahoma in the late 1890s, soon after the former Indian lands were opened to white settlement. Today there are five Old Order Amish church districts in the state and one Beachy Amish church community, with a total population of about 500.
This paper will provide a brief history of the Amish in Oklahoma and trace changes and adaptations that have occurred in Amish life from the frontier period to the present. Some of those developments include the creation of small businesses, agricultural diversification, and changes in the Ordnung to allow the use of tractors. One of the more successful economic ventures is an annual quilt and consignment sale held by the Amish in southeastern Oklahoma, with help from their coreligionists in northeastern Oklahoma and Kansas. We will examine how this activity, and other developments, has led to changing relationships with the “English” communities in the area. Finally, accommodations by the Beachy Amish in recent years will be traced.
Historically, the Oklahoma Amish have successfully retained a distinct cultural identity by consciously drawing symbolic boundaries between themselves and the society around them. But the growing reliance of the Old Order Amish on tractors and other expensive farm equipment, their frequent use of outsiders for “taxi” service, and increasing social and economic intercourse with the “English” raises the question of whether those traditional boundaries can—or will—be maintained.
Marvin Kroeker, Ph.D., is Professor of History Emeritus, East Central University, Ada, Oklahoma.
Amish Social Capital and the Quest for Sustainability
Martine Vonk, Jan Boersema and Peter Ester
“As long as we stay with the horse, we can keep our community.” This quotation of an individual Amish farmer encapsulates what we call their ”social capital.” The way of transport, together with a narrated history, shared faith, separation from the world, deep sense of community identity and strong intergenerational socialization built this Amish social capital over the centuries. It is characterized by transparent kinship relations and clear social structures, the unwritten rules of the Ordnung, and values like obedience, family, pacifism, humility, and a plain lifestyle that is clearly symbolized in clothing. The accumulated social capital of the Amish is deeply rooted in a common philosophy of life.
In the global discussion on sustainable development, behavioral choices and their underlying values in relation to prosperity, welfare and well-being, are crucial. Most often these values and (changes in) behavior are being studied on the level of individuals. In our study we point to communities, such as the Amish, where their social capital is underestimated.
We report the main findings from our study on whether and in what sense the Amish philosophy of life and their social capital determines primary choices regarding transport, nutrition, energy use, and agriculture. We explored whether Amish social capital is either a prerequisite for a sustainable relationship with the natural world or, on the contrary, whether it restrains developments towards sustainability. The findings show examples of social capital leading to unsustainable aspects of life and also examples of social capital contributing to sustainability and quality of life.
Martine Vonk, M.S., is a Ph.D. student at the Institute for Environmental Studies at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Jan Boersema, Ph.D., is a senior staff member of the Blaise Pascal Institute and Professor of Earth and Life Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Peter Ester, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and serves as chairman of the executive committee of the Global Environmental Survey project, a multi-continent study of environmental attitudes and concerns.
Culturally Competent Mental Health Services
for the Geauga (Ohio) Amish Settlement
James Adams, David Boyle, Lawrence Greksa, Richard Hill,
Dave Hughes, Jill Korbin, Beth Matthews, Karen Podojil
This panel reports on a multidisciplinary project to improve the delivery of mental health services to the Amish population of the four counties comprising the Geauga settlement in Ohio.
Following a series of meetings and focus groups, a new clinic, psychiatrist and outreach clinical support counselor dedicated to the Amish population were established. The Amish client load has increased dramatically from approximately 20 in 2000 to 123 in 2006. Additionally, the clinical support counselor involves the family and community members of these clients in the treatment process.
The range of problems for which help is sought is similar to the non-Amish population. Concerns in providing mental healthcare services to the Amish community include: care in balancing mental health provision with Amish religious beliefs; the interface between Amish culture and specific disorders; access issues; and life-course issues such as the period prior to baptism and experiences of postpartum depression.
James Adams is Executive Director, Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services.
David Boyle is Chief Executive Officer of the Ravenwood Mental Health Center.
Lawrence Greksa is Professor of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University.
Richard Hill is Medical Director of Ravenwood Mental Health Center.
Dave Hughes is Amish Clinical Support Coordinator at Ravenwood Mental Health Center.
Jill Korbin is Professor of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University.
Beth Matthews is Director of Administration and Prevention Services with Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services.
Karen Podojil is Quality Assurance Director at Ravenwood Mental Health Center.
Green Pastures: Its History and Vision
Charles Bauman
The Green Pastures Rest Home is a mental health facility on the campus of Philhaven Hospital, a full-service mental health facility about 20 miles north of Lancaster City. Green Pastures was recently established in cooperation with the Lancaster Amish community to care for Amish patients from eastern Pennsylvania and beyond. The presentation will describe the process of establishing Green Pastures in partnership with the Amish community. Current operation of Green Pastures will be reviewed, including its services, types of clients, Amish staff, and professional staff.
Charles G. Bauman is Liaison with Plain Communities, Philhaven Hospital, Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania.
Textbooks and Identity in Old Order Schools
Karen M. Johnson-Weiner
This paper explores the ways in which Old Order publishers and the school texts they produce reflect different, community-based notions of what it means to be Old Order, how the Old Order must interact with the dominant society, and, most importantly, what values are to be reinforced through the schools.
Highlighting certain cultural practices while downplaying others, Old Order publishers, I argue, act as powerful agents to reinforce the values that keep the Old Order community intact and the world out.
Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, The State University of New York at Potsdam, Potsdam, New York.
The Budget and Die Botschaft in Amish Life
Steven Nolt
Published since 1890 in Sugarcreek. Ohio, The Budget has a circulation of about 19,000 and includes some 450 letters in each issue. Die Botschaft, launched in 1975 and long published in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, settlement, is issued to just over 10,000 subscribers and prints about 300 letters per week. (Women are a disproportionate share of the scribes in each case.)
These correspondence newspapers do more than connect readers to an existing Amish community; they are agents in the creation of that community. The papers foster an “imagined community” by functioning as collective diaries, spaces in which order is brought to bear on group life, highlighting particular commonality and suppressing certain types of diversity. Indeed, disagreements over where the correspondence community’s boundaries should rest led to the creation of Die Botschaft as an alternative to The Budget, and the papers have come to foster two different notions of Amish identity.
Steven M. Nolt, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of History at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana.
Public Library Usage Among the Old Order Amish
Monica St. Clair
Although the Old Order Amish may not be seen as “typical” library users, their patronage of these institutions is on the rise. This paper examines current usage of public library services in Amish communities and provides discussion on the ways that their usage is growing, both in the variety of materials they borrow and the manner in which they use the library as a resource.
Informal studies suggest that the predominant borrowings of older materials, and growing use of bookmobiles, are typical usage habits of the Amish. This author’s research, derived from interviews with librarians located in Amish communities, enhances these perceptions and confirms the growing role of the library in the lives of the Amish. Initially conducted in early 2005, this research is updated and expanded to include the most current reading habits of the Amish reflecting their inclination towards books written and self-published by church members, and their expectations of public library service.
Monica St. Clair, M.L.I.S., is Readers’ Advisory Librarian, Burlington County Library System, Westampton, New Jersey.
Completing the Plain Puzzle:
Old Orders in Canada and Latin America
Royden Loewen
The “Plain Puzzle” examines the forgotten history of 200,000 ”old order” Dutch-Russian Mennonites scattered in Low German-speaking colonies throughout the Americas.
Their story begins in the 1920s when 8,000 plain people rejected modernity and English school laws in Canada and migrated to Mexico and Paraguay. Here they settled in exclusive colonies, but soon spread out so that today they can be found not only in four Mexican and two Paraguayan states, but in Bolivia, Belize, Argentina, and Costa Rica. Many others have returned to Canada and some live as illegal aliens in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
These communities are dynamic cultural sites where various sub-groups intensely debate the meaning of biblical humility, simplicity, and separation from worldly power and status. Economic challenges, social fragmentation, and exponential population growth continue to propel this remarkable Low German Mennonite diaspora.
Royden Loewen, Ph.D., is chair in Mennonite Studies, Department of History, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Herman Bontrager, Donald B. Kraybill, John Laufer, Diane Zimmerman Umble
Moderated by Donald B. Kraybill, panel members will present brief perspectives on selected aspects of the Nickel Mines school shooting in October 2006. Herman Bontrager, spokesperson for the Nickel Mines Accountability Committee, will describe how the committee was formed and responded to financial donations from around the world. Captain John Laufer will discuss the role of the state police in responding to the emergency and managing the influx of media throughout the week. Diane Zimmerman Umble will speak about the role of the media in interpreting the tragedy. Donald B. Kraybill will offer some reflections on the forgiveness story that emerged in the aftermath of the shooting.
These brief presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.
Herman Bontrager is president of Goodville Mutual Insurance Company in New Holland, Pennsylvania.
Donald B. Kraybill is Distinguished College Professor and Senior Fellow at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies of Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.
Captain John Laufer is Commander of Troop J, Lancaster Barracks, of the Pennsylvania State Police.
Diane Zimmerman Umble is Associate Professor of Communications and Interim Associate Dean at Millersville University, Millersville, Pennsylvania.
House Calls and Hitching Posts:
Stories Not Yet Written
Elton Lehman
Dr. Lehman, the author of House Calls and Hitching Posts, will share stories inspired by his relationships with his Amish patients and neighbors. He will include stories of events that have occurred since the book was written, as well as updates on some of the characters and events in the original text.
Elton Lehman, D.O., is Medical Director, Mount Eaton Care Center, Mount Eaton, Ohio.
Filmmaking Dilemmas: Documenting the Amish
Burton Buller, Dirk Eitzen, Dieter Rucht
Filmmakers documenting Amish life or producing films about aspects of Amish culture face many challenges: access, cooperation, ethical dilemmas, point of view, and interpretation to name but a few. Experienced film producers will talk about how they have faced these and other issues and then respond to questions from the participants in this informal session.
Burton Buller was the photographer for "The People of Preservation," which was shot in Lancaster County in the mid-1970s. More recently, he completed documentaries of Amish life in Holmes County, Ohio, (2006) and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (2007).
Dirk Eitzen was the producer of "The Amish and Us," a film fucussing on Amish/outsider relations, which was shown on numerous PBS stations.
Dieter Rucht, a German filmmaker, is in the process of completing a film about an Amish community in central Pennsylvania.
Music Workshop: Amish Songs and Singing
Hilde Binford
Learn and practice the Amish “slow song” tradition. This workshop will provide a brief overview of the Ausbund (the Amish song book), the Loblied, and the “slow song” tradition in Amish churches. Professor Binford will play rare examples of recordings, and then teach workshop participants the Loblied. This is the cornerstone hymn which is sung in every Amish worship service. Participants will find it rewarding to be able to sing along with the congregation if they ever visit an Amish service.
Hilde Binford, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Amish Quilts: Art and Commerce
Janneken Smucker and Patricia Herr
This informal discussion on quilts will begin with brief presentations by the session leaders about their interest and involvement in the collection and study of Amish quilts. Following their introductory comments, they will respond to questions from participants and conduct a wide-ranging conversation on quilts as art and commerce.
Janneken Smucker is a Ph.D. student in history of American civilization at the University of Delaware.
Patricia Herr is a textile historian, researcher, collector, and dealer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
