We recently returned from vacation—most of it spent in “Amish Country” in Pennsylvania. I do have some stories to tell. (Search the site using the keyword “Amish.”)

As I do every year, I picked up a copy of The Budget newspaper. The Budget is a weekly newspaper published in Ohio for and by members of various plain Anabaptist Christian communities, including the Amish, Amish Mennonite, Beachy Amish, and plain Mennonite and Brethren communities.

There is no online version, and they do not maintain a website. The only way to subscribe is to send a note with a check. That will not be surprising if you know much about the “plain people.” What may surprise you is that it has been around since 1890 and, in spite of the failure rate of most print newspapers, shows no signs of weakening or losing “market share.” According to at least one source, it is one of the largest paid weekly circulation newspapers in the country. (This is an excellent article about The Budget!)

Since this is not going to qualify as a heavily researched article, suffice it to say that the Amish are organized into an estimated 600 districts around the country and Canada. I’m mentioning that because the newspaper is structured based on those districts. A simple description is that “scribes” (reporters) from each district submit news about their district each week for publication. It appears that most articles are submitted by snail mail or fax machine. (Most Amish are not big fans of technology.)

For one interested in communication and newsletter publishing, it’s a fascinating publication on a number of points. To oversimplify, it’s fascinating that it works and how it works. I’ve speculated that it works in a large part because of the absence of technology. But more importantly, the publishers understand and meet the needs of their market. A typical report from a district will include important details like which family hosted church most recently, who is getting married, who is recovering from illness or an accident, who is visiting relatives, and who is being visited by relatives. There’s often a mention of the weather and how the crops are doing.

Amish beliefs and culture place a great deal of importance on the family and the community. Amish couples may have as many as fifteen children in the more conservative groups, Six to eight is generally accepted as the average. The Budget helps those families stay connected even as family members move to another district.

The editors of The Budget know the information critical to maintaining a strong community, and they provide it. I recall one article reporting a recent farm accident and listing the schedule for the neighbors who are helping.

So where do we Englisch (non-Amish) find information about our families and communities? Before you answer “social media,” I’ve recently seen the suggestion that we should drop the word “social” and call it, more accurately, “media.” Given the algorithms, Facebook’s tendency to decide what users should see, what is relevant, and the emphasis on advertising, it’s probably fair to say families and community are not a high priority or value for the social media providers.

Is it at least interesting (if not concerning) non-Amish society isn’t starving for the information critical to maintaining strong communities? Is this a reflection of our society or a missed opportunity? That seems to be something worthy of thought.