Mennonite and Amish Folklore and Folk Arts
A selected bibliography
August 2007
Ervin Beck
Professor Emeritus of English
With thanks to Lon Sherer, Linda Kimpel and Linda
Rouch for technical assistance.
To
suggest corrections or additions to this bibliography, e-mail: ervinb@goshen.edu
Foreword
Because so many elements of Amish and Mennonite
culture are transmitted orally or by customary example, it is often difficult
to draw the line between folk and other spheres of Mennonite and Amish culture.
Although this bibliography is of necessity selective, it errs in the direction
of inclusivity. Some principles used in selecting items for the bibliography
include the following:
Secondary reports/analyses prevail, although primary
sources are sometimes included for under-researched areas. Similarly, every
effort has been made to include all available scholarly studies, although many
popular sources are also included.
The bibliography is relatively complete for items
published since 1980; less complete for earlier years. A few items lack
important bibliographical information; the compiler welcomes corrections by
e-mail.
The bibliography does not include items on the
Hutterites, nor on Mennonites or Amish in
The borderline between folk and sociological and
anthropological studies is problematic. Some sociological and anthropological
studies are included, especially if they appear in the annual bibliographies
for Folklore published by the Modern Language Association.
F.
Costumes (including hairstyle)
H.
Crafts (including occupational)
L.
Furniture and household furnishings
“Barn
Raising at Metamora: A Photographic Essay.” Material Culture (Spring
1989), 47- 56.
Bartel, Lois
Franz. “A Pioneer Home.” Mennonite Life (Oct. 1962), 162-66.
Boyer,
Bruce. “Patterns in Brick.”
Bucher,
Robert C. and Isaac Clarence Kulp, Jr. “Bau-Typen in Goschenhoppen;
Burkholder,
Harry L. The
Burns,
Deborah Stephens.
Ensminger,
Robert F. “A Comparative Study of
__________. The
__________. “A
Search for the Origin of the
Friesen,
Rudy P. with Sergey Shmakin. Into the Past: Buildings of the
Friesen,
Steve. A Modest Mennonite Home. Intercourse,
Godshall,
Jeffrey L. “The Traditional Farmhouse of the
Kauffman,
Henry J. Architecture of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, 1700-1900.
Keen, R.
Martin. “Community and Material Culture among
Knoop, Fred.
“Master Farmers in
Krahn,
Cornelius, Don E. Smucker and George Stonebach. [On church architecture.] Educational
News Bulletin [
Lay, K.
Edward. “European Antecedents of Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Germanic
and Scots-Irish Architecture in
Ledohowski,
Edward M. and David K. Butterfield. Architectural Heritage: Traditional
Mennonite Architecture in the Rural
Lestz,
Gerald. “Introduction.”
Lounsberry,
Lorrain. “The Farm Home.” Mennonite Traditional Arts of the
[
—John
Janzen, “Anabaptist-Mennonite Spaces and Places of Worship,” 151-65.
—Leonard
Gross, “Building the House of the Lord: Hutterian Architecture as an Expression
of the Christian Faith,” 178-92.
—Gradon
Snyder, “Christian Meeting Places, Constantinian Basilicas and Anabaptist
Restorationism,” 167-77.
—Reinhild
Kauenhover Janzen, “Door to the Spiritual: The Visual Arts in
Anabaptist-Mennonite Worship,” 367-90.
—John
Janzen, “Form and Meaning in Central Kansas Mennonite Buildings for Worship,”
323-53.
—Sebastian
Schritt, “Heinrich Johann Freyse’s Renovation of the
—Keith
Sprunger, “History and Theology,” 306-22.
—John Ruth, “‘Only
a House . . . Yet It Becomes’: Some Mennonite Traditions of Worship Space,”
235-56.
—Rudy
Friesen, “Places of Worship in the
—Galen
Horst-Martz, “Restoring the
—Harold
Funk, “Today’s
—Robert
Kreider, “What Then Is the Anabaptist-Mennonite Architecture of Worship and
Meeting?” 391-99.
—Piet
Visser, “‘Wherever Christ is Among Us We Will Gather’: Mennonite Worship Places
in the
—Peter
Klassen, “Worship and Churches in the Development of Mennonite Settlements in
Miller,
Levi, ed. The Meetinghouse of God’s People: Essays on
Musselman,
V. Gerald. “Architecture and Our Faith.” Mennonite Life (Oct. 1965),
159- 67.
Newswanger,
Everett R. “Two Triple-Decker Barns, One Historic Grist Mill: --and Snippets of
Amish and Mennonite Beliefs. [
Petterson,
Nancy-Lou. The Tramp Room.
Patterson, Nancy-Lou
and Susan Burke. “Mennonite Georgian: The Joseph Schneider Haus,
Ravensway,
Charles van. The Arts and Architecture of the German Settlements in
Reimer, John
C. and Julius G. Toews. “Mennonite Buildings.” Mennonite Memories: Settling
in
Reitz,
Thomas A. “The Peter Martin House Restoration: A Photographic Essay.”
Reynolds,
Margaret Clark. “Assimilation and Acculturation in a Pennsylvania-German
Landscape: The Nisley Family and Its Architecture in the
__________. “A
Chronicle in Stone and Wood: The
Ruth, Phil
Johnson. Fifteen Most Historic Properties in
Sawatsky,
Tamara A. “The Dutch Windmill as Icon of Russian Mennonite Heritage.” Mennonite
Quarterly Review 79.2 (April 2005), 191-206.
Schmidt,
Richard H. “The Hochfeld Village.” Mennonite Life (March 1985), 12-16.
Schneider,
David B. Foundations in a Fertile Soil: Farming and
Schreiber,
William I. “The Pennsylvania Dutch Bank Barn in
Scott,
Stephen. Amish Houses and Barns. Intercourse,
Shoemaker,
Alfred. “Pennsylvania German Barns.” Mennonite Life (Oct. 1951), 6-11.
Stauffer, Harry
Franklin. “Pennsylvania German Countryside.” Der Reggeboge 17 (1983),
1-32. Photo essay.
Stevens,
Bryan J. “The Swiss Bank House Revisited: Messerschmidt-Dietz Cabin.”
Stucky,
Brian D. “Alexanderwohl Architecture.” Mennonite Life (March 1986),
16-23.
Beck, Ervin.
“Mennonite Origin Tales and Beliefs.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 64:1
(Jan. 1990), 32-48.
Doering,
John Frederick. “Note on the Dyeing of the Halb Leinich among the Pennsylvania
Dutch of
Enninger,
Werner. “The Social Construction of Past, Present and Future in the Written and
Oral Texts of the Old Order Amish: An Ethno-Semiotic Approach to Social Belief.”
Literary Anthropology. Ed. Fernando Poyatos.
Fogel, Edwin
Miller. Beliefs and Superstitions of the
Geiger,
Annamaria. “Communication in American Contexts of Religion: Old Order Amish vs.
Born-Agains.” Internal and External Perspectives on Amish and Mennonite Life
II. Ed. Werner Enninger, et al.
Lee, Daniel
B. Old Order Mennonites: Rituals, Beliefs and Community.
Shoemaker,
Alfred L. “Amish Folk-Beliefs.”
__________. “Water
Witching.”
__________. Three
Myths about the Pennsylvania Dutch Country: Hex Signs; Seven Sours and Seven
Sweets; the Amish Blue Gate.
Smith,
George. “Amish Folk-Beliefs.”
Wentz,
Richard E. Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Spirituality.
Zook, Lee. “The
Amish in
Brown, Waln K.
“The Pennsylvania Dutch Carriage Trade.”
Kurtz, Karen
B. “His Wheels Roll On.” Heritage Country (Spring-Summer 1985), 23-24.
Scott,
Stephen. Plain Buggies: Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren Horse-Drawn Transportation.
Barba,
Bellafiore,
Sharyn, and T. J. Redclay. Amish Farm Animals.
Burke,
Susan. “Jacob Roth: Folk Artist.” Kitchener, ON: Joseph Schneider Haus, 1989. Exhibit
pamphlet.
Hanks, Carole.
Early
Kobayashi,
Terry. “Folk Art in Wood.” Canadian Antiques and Art Review (March
1980), 26-30.
__________. “Fred
Hoffman (1844-1926):
__________. “David
B. Horst (1873-1975): St. Jacobs Woodcarver.”
Neal,
Patterson,
Nancy-Lou. “Death and Ethnicity: Swiss-German Mennonite Gravestones of the ‘
Waltner,
Wootten,
Richard. David L. Hostetler, the Carver.
Wust, Klaus. Folk Art in Stone.
Zehner,
Olive G. “Amish Sculpture.”
“Clock
Restorations Mark Passage of Time.” The Mennonite
Gibbs, James
W. “Religious Sect Clockmakers, Part 1.” National Association of Watch and
Clock Collectors Bulletin 167 (Dec. 1973), 44-47; “Part 2.” 168 (Feb.
1974), 168-74.
Janzen,
Reinhild Kauenhoven. “Keeping Faith and Keeping Time: Old Testament Images on
Mennonite Clocks.” Mennonite Life 55:4 (Dec. 2000) http://www.bethelks.edu/mennonitelife/
Kroeger,
Arthur. “Kroeger
Clocks.” Winnipeg: [n.p., n.d.]. 20 pp.
Mimeographed copy in Mennonite Historical Library,
Kroeker,
Wally. “Marking Time.” Mennonite Historical Bulletin 60:3 (July 1999),
14-16.
Peters, John
W. “Russian Wall Clocks Built Again.” Festival Quarterly (Feb.-April
1980), 22.
Wood, Stacy
B. Clockmakers and Watchmakers of
Wood, Stacy
B. C., Jr., and Stephen E. Kramer III. Clockmakers of
Arthur,
Linda Boynton. “Cloth, Constraint and Creativity: The Engendering of Material
Culture Among the Holdeman Mennonites.” Conrad Grebel Review 17:3 (Fall
1999), 32-51.
__________. “Clothing
Is a Window to the Soul: The Social Control of Women in a Holdeman Mennonite Community.”
Journal of Mennonite Studies 15 (1997), 11-30.
Baldwin,
Sioux. “Amish Plain Costume; a Matter of Choice.”
Boynton,
Linda. “Attire as an Expression of Roles among Holdeman Mennonite Women.” Women
in Anthropology Symposium Papers, 1980-81.
Brunk,
Teresa. Sewing for Conservative Men.
Emerson,
Catherine L. West. “Clothing the
Enninger,
Werner. “Clothing.” International Encyclopedia of
__________. “The
Design Features of Clothing Codes: The Functions of Clothing Displays in
Interaction.” Ars Semeiotics 8:1/2 (1985), 81-110.
__________. “The
Semiotic Structure of Amish Folk Costume: Its Function in the Organization of
Face-to-face Interaction.”
__________. “Structural
and Pragmatic Properties of Grooming and Garment Grammars.” Semiotics
Unfolding 1 (1984), 467-75.
Genret,
Ellen J. Rural
Gingerich,
Melvin. “Change and Uniformity in Mennonite Attire.” Mennonite Quarterly
Review 70 (Oct. 1966), 243-59.
__________. Mennonite
Attire Through Four Centuries.
Graybill,
Beth E. “‘To Remind Us of Who We Are’: An Ethnographic Exploration of Women’s
Dress and Gender Roles in a Conservative Mennonite Community.” (Master’s
Thesis, U. of Maryland, 1995).
Hershey,
Mary Jane. “A Study of the Dress of the Old Mennonites of the
Hostetler,
John A. “Amish Costume: Its European Origins.” The American-German Review
(Aug.-Sept. 1956), 11-14.
Huyett,
Laura. “Straw Hat Making Among the Old Order Amish.”
Klees,
Frederic. “Bonnets and Broadbrims.” Saturday Evening Post
Legoues,
Thierry. “Fundamentals Now and Always.” Harper’s Bazaar 3381 (Aug.
1993), 158-64.
McGrath,
William. “Why I Wear a Beard.”
__________. Why
We Wear Plain Clothes. Minerva, O.: The Author, 1981.
Miller, E.
Jane. “Origin, Development and Trends of the Dress of the Plain People of
Nystrom,
Dick. “The Amish Aesthetic.” Esquire 120:2 (Aug. 1993), 107.
Plancke,
Fritz. “The Evolution of Clothing Trends Among the Amish: An Interpretation.” Internal
and External Perspectives on Amish and Mennonite Life,
Regier, Amy.
“Revising the Plainness of Whiteness.” Mennonite Life [online] 57:2
(June 2002).
Umble, John.
“Memoirs of an Amish Bishop.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 22 (April
1948), 94-115.
Von Unwerth,
Ellen. “The Great Plain.” Vogue 183:8 (Aug. 1993), 278-92.
Weaver,
Laura. “Forbidden Fancies: A Child’s Version of Mennonite Plainness.” Mennonite
Life (June 1988), 20-23.
__________. “Plain
Clothes Revisited: Empathy for Muslim Women.” Mennonite Life [online]
57:2 (June 2002).
__________. “Writing
about the Covering and Plain Clothes as a Mennonite ‘Family Possession.’” Mennonite
Life (Dec. 1994), 4-7.
__________. “When
the Strings Go, Everything Goes: The Metamorphosis of a Mennonite Cap.”
Weiser,
Frederick S. “The Clothing of the “White Top” Amish of
Yoder, Don. “The
Costumes of the ‘Plain People.’”
__________. “Folk
Costume.” Folklore and Folklife. Ed. Richard M. Dorson.
__________. “Men’s
Costumes Among the Plain People.”
__________. “Sectarian
Costume Research in the
Anderson,
Clarita. American Coverlets and Their Weavers... Including a Dictionary of
More Than 700 Coverlet Weavers.
__________. “
Bird,
Michael S. “Friedrich K. Ploethner (1826-1883): Cabinet-maker and Weaver.” Canadian
Collector (May/June 1980), 28-32.
Bixel,
Phyllis. “Pennsylvania German Coverlets.” Mennonite Life (Oct. 1950),
34.
Burnham,
Harold B. and Dorothy K. Burnham. “Keep Me Warm One Night”: Early
Handweaving in
Heisy, John
W., comp. A Checklist of American Coverlet Weavers.
Hersh, Tandy
and Charles Hersh. Rural Pennsylvania German Weaving 1833-1857; and the
Christian Frey and Henry Small, Jr. Patterns Books.
Montgomery,
Pauline.
__________. “Master
Coverlet Weavers of
Rabb, Kate
Milner. “
Reinert, Guy
F. “Coverlets of the
Barrick, Mac
E. “David Stoner: Notes on a Neglected Craftsman.”
“Consider
the Ancient Water Wheel Life.” Countryside & Small Stock Journal
80:4 (July/Aug. 1996), 55.
Gingerich,
Melvin. “Mint Farming in
Glick,
Maggie. “Horses with Heart.” Heritage Country (Spring-Summer 1985),
18-20.
Haverstick,
Tony. “Pennsylvania German Bookbinding and Anabaptist Bookbinders.”
Hawn,
Carleen. “A Second Parting of the
Homan, Wayne
E. “How
Keyser, Alan
G. “Gardens and Gardening Among the
Lasansky,
Jeannette. “Pennsylvania-German Round-Rod Oak Baskets.” Antiques (April
1984), 886-95.
Lockwood,
Annette. “Amish Cottage Industries.”
Long, Amos. “Bakeovens
in the
__________. The
Pennsylvania German Family Farm.
Luthy,
David. “Martin Printers.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 51 (April 1977),
152-62.
__________. “Metal
Initial and Date Plates on Amish and Mennonite Books.”
O’Connor,
Malachi S. “The Ethics of Craftsmanship among the
Patterson,
Nancy-Lou. “
Schmidt, Orlando. “Mennonite
Organ Builders You May Not Know.” Festival Quarterly (Nov.-Dec. 1978,
Jan. 1979), 31.
Schultz,
Carolyn, and Adelia Stuckey. Wheat Weaving Made Easy.
Shenton,
Donald R. “The Balance of the Sowing of the Seed.” Keystone Folklore
Quarterly (Winter 1956-57).
Teichroew,
Allan. “As Far as the Eye Can See: Some Depression Photos of Mennonite Farmers.”
Mennonite Life (Sept. 1978), 4-15.
Waltner,
Willard, and Elma Waltner. Year Round Hobbycraft.
Wandel,
Johanna. “An Analysis of Stability and Change in an Old Order Mennonite Farming
System in
“The Amish
at Auction.” Country Living 14:4 (Apr. 1991), 84-5.
“Amish Raise
a Barn.” Life
Beck,
Herbert H. “Mennonite Wedding.”
Bernstein,
Barbara E. “A Cross-Cultural Study of Sixth-Graders’ New Year’s Resolutions;
Middle Class Versus Mennonite and Amish Youth.” Social
Behavior and Personality 5:2 (1977): 209-15.
Blum, Peter
C. “Heidegger’s Shoes and Beautiful Feet: Ritual Meaning and Cultural
Portability.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 79:1 (January 2005), 89-108.
Brednich,
Rolf Wilhelm. The Bible and the Plow: The Lives of a Hutterite Minister and
a Mennonite Farmer.
“Christmas
Memories.” Festival Quarterly (Nov.-Dec.1978, Jan. 1979), 16-17.
Cressman,
Arnold. “Can Anything Be Learned From the
Denlinger,
Rhoda Horning. “Metzler’s School, Then and Now.”
“Dis-quest:
Symbols: What Symbols are Important to Your Group?” Festival Quarterly (Aug.-Oct.
1980), 20-21.
Gougler,
Richard C. “Amish Barn-Raising.”
__________. “Amish
Weddings.”
__________. “The
Amish Wedding.”
__________. “The
Shunning.”
Grider,
Donald M. “The Philopena Album of Harriet Musser Grider (1837-1923) of
Hampton,
Wilborn. “A Country Horse Auction.” New York Times
Hark, Ann. “Amish
Christmas.” American-German Review (Dec. 1959/Jan. 1960).
Horst, Isaac
R. A Separate People: An Insider’s View of Old Order Mennonite Customs and
Traditions.
Hostetler,
John A. “The Amish Use of Symbols and their Function in Bounding the Community.”
The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (1963), 11-22.
Hurd, James
P. “Marriage Practices Among the ‘
Huxman, Susan Schultz and Gerald Biesecker-Mast. „In the
World but not of It: Mennonite
Traditions as Resources for Rhetorical Invention.“ Rhetoric
and Public Affairs 7:4 (Winter 2004):
539-54.
Janzen,
Reinhild Kauenhoven. “‘To Help Us Think of God’: Iconic Versus Anti-Iconic
Mennonite Celebrations of Christmas and Easter in
Jentsch,
Theodore W. “Kutztown’s Plain People.”
Kauffman,
Dave. “A Day on the
Kraus, Jetta. Jacob’s Ladder: Einfluss der Religion
auf das Alltagsleben einer Old Order Amisch-Gemeinde in Ohio/USA.
Kniss, Fred.
Disquiet in the Land: Conflict over Ideas and Symbols among American
Mennonites, 1870-1985. Diss.,
Kreider,
Robert. “Four Moments of Worship Around the World.” Festival Quarterly
(Feb.-April 1981), 12-14.
Kulp, Isaac
Clarence, Jr. “Christmas Customs of the Goschenhoppen Region.” The
Goschenhoppen Region (Allen Heil Issue 1968), 4-11.
Lasansky,
Jeannette. A Good Start: The Aussteier or Dowry.
Lee, Daniel.
Old Order Mennonites: Rituals, Beliefs, and Community.
Liechty,
Joseph C. “Humility.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 54 (Jan. 1980), 5-32.
Ludwig, G.
M. “Barn Raising Modern Version.” Iowa’s Farm and Home Register
Macnaughton,
Elizabeth. “Farming among Old Order Mennonites of
Martin,
Aaron. “Courtship and Marriage Practices of
Miller, R.M.
“New