DownloadJan. 12, 2004 issue
For the Amish, almanacs help keep the year in order
By Robert Rhodes Mennonite Weekly ReviewWhere can you find weather predictions, moon phases, garden signs, a list of every Amish minister and prices for brooms fashioned by none other than Blind Syl Hershberger?
Der Neue Amerikanische Calender
Each new year, seekers of such curiosities need look no further than the latest edition of The New American Almanac — a nondescript yearbook published for decades by and for the Old Order Amish.
The plain, black-and-white booklet commonly is known as Raber’s Almanac, after the Amish-run bookstore near Baltic, Ohio, which sponsors the almanac and showcases its wares inside.
In many ways, Old Order observers will tell you, the almanac is a microcosm of Amish life and how it has changed over the past half-century.
Donald Kraybill of Elizabethtown, Pa., a sociologist who has written numerous surveys of Amish culture, including The Riddle of Amish Culture and The Amish and the State, believes the almanac is still important to many Amish people, even if the old-fashioned forecasts are sometimes of little use when it comes to actual field work.
“My impression is that the Raber’s Almanac is still important and valuable and that people still consult it,” Kraybill said.
Of most use to the Amish, Kraybill said, is the almanac’s comprehensive listing of Amish ministers — a resource, updated yearly, found nowhere else.
Included in the 48-page register are names and addresses, as well as birth, death and ordination years for each minister and bishop. All are grouped by state, county and church district.
In addition, Old Colony ministers in Mexico, Bolivia and Paraguay are listed. For a time in the 1950s, Hutterite pastors also were included.
Also of value, Kraybill said, are Scripture and hymn listings for each month — used by most Amish districts in the Lancaster County, Pa., area, if not in other regions.
Comment on the article For the Amish, almanacs help keep the year in order
The purpose of comments is to engage in dialogue. We expect commenters to treat authors and each other as each would want to be treated. Respectful criticism is welcomed; offensive comments or parts of comments will be removed by the site administrator. Name and comment will be posted; email address is for follow-up only and will not be made public.
Download a free PDF showing the populations of
Mennonite groups and other Anabaptists.
