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Episode 4 review and episode 5 preview.

We seen me go to Pa to help in something I hadn’t done in about 10 yrs. Help build an Amish barn. There is a special history to the old Stolzfus barn and residence. It was one of the very original places settled upon when the Amish first came to America in the late 1600′s and early 1700′s. The person who settled upon it, Nicholas Stolzfus, had been kicked out of his Amish community (overseas somewhere) because he fell in love and married an English girl. He settled in Pa, and that’s where the first Pa Amish community began. Today, there are more

                                                           Joplin, Mo. May 2011

Stolzfus in Pa then any other Amish name, and it seems that every person in Pa is related in some way to the Nicholas Stolzfus, the man who married the “English” girl. This is why the Amish decided to rebuild this barn and try to preserve the place, in recognition of Nicholas Stolzfus. I do believe the property is still not completely done because they ran out of funds.

I have always enjoyed building things with my hands! Even back in the “Amish in the City” days back in 2004, when I was staying with the rest of the cast in the Hollywood hills, what helped me keep my sanity was I preoccupied my mind with making little wooden inventions for the rest of the cast in the house. Also later in the episode we see a bunch of us go down to Joplin, Mo to help with Read more »

                                                               Episode 3 review

Helllloooo… Heeeellllloooooo!
That’s me down here in this imaginary hole I’ve crawled into in the last week or so. Things have come so thick and fast with thousands of Emails, text msgs, phone calls, and random people just stopping by the Car dealership where I work, that I have found a happy place in the back of my mind where I go and hibernate for periods at a time. That being said, please keep the Email, facebook, and Twitter communications coming. I enjoy it, but if I don’t get back to you for a day or so, It’s because I am                                                            

episode 3 review.

                                                        Pennyslvania Barn Building

There was probably no one who was more relieved then I was when I finally was allowed into Jonas’ hospital room and realized I could get him to respond a little. I did feel very badly for him about the fact that not only had he just lost a car, his job, at least until he can get back up and running, but also the blow of his family.
A little behind the scenes footage. It was extremely difficult Read more »

The Most Interesting Amish Man in the World

Sometimes, I look on in envy at other TV producers. When they cast for a lot of their shows, they can put up postings on Web sites, they can hold open calls or hire casting directors, or people will submit tapes. And certainly, whenever I have made shows like that, I have been able to use those resources and see the benefits. It doesn’t make those shows easier to produce, but casting for them essentially becomes more about sorting through options until you find the best people to put on the show.

But for better and for worse, I specialize in doing projects about subcultures, such as Amish: Out of Order on the National Geographic Channel and the upcoming American Gypsies, also for Nat Geo. Usually, my projects are about people who don’t apply to be on TV; they are about people who we have to search for, who avoid the spotlight, who aren’t always readily accessible. They aren’t easy to find, and when you find them, quite frankly, they aren’t always that TV friendly.

Daniel Laikind, Producer of Amish: Out of Order

There is a reason why there aren’t dozens of TV shows about the Amish the same way there are dozens of dating shows, or shows about housewives. Finding anyone Amish or ex-Amish to appear on camera is as hard as hell. It took us three years Read more »