Holmes County fireside chat draws 180 for Amish life discussion

A fireside chat on Amish life drew 180 people to Evermore Community Church in Hartville, turning a local-history program into a strong community turnout. The April 16 event, centered on the theme Growing Up Amish, focused on the history, traditions and lived experiences that continue to shape Lake Township and the wider region.

Chip Weisel, president of the Lake Township Chamber of Commerce, served as master of ceremonies. With Amish heritage in his own background, Weisel brought a personal connection to the evening as he introduced speakers, shared memories and asked questions that helped steer the discussion beyond a simple lecture format. That approach gave the program a conversational tone and tied the topic to lived family and community experience.

The Lake Township Historical Society staged the event at Evermore Community Church, 1470 Smith Kramer St. NE, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the program running from 7 to 9 p.m. The society, founded in 1994, says its mission is to preserve oral and written history and three-dimensional objects for Lake Township citizens. Its museum and meeting space occupies the former Greentown Library, and its permanent collection includes farming, commercial, home and military items.

The strong attendance showed that Amish history is still a draw well beyond academic interest. In a place where Amish and Mennonite settlers were present as early as the 1830s, the subject remains tied to daily life, local identity and the economy. Holmes County tourism material continues to describe Amish and Mennonite community life as centered on family, church and small farms, a pattern that has long shaped the area’s character.

For Lake Township and nearby Holmes County communities, the crowd at Evermore Community Church offered a clear signal: heritage programming still has room to grow when it is rooted in real places and real people. The turnout suggested that residents want more than a postcard version of Amish life. They want the stories, the context and the voices that explain how those traditions have endured.