A Strand in the Web: My Amish Roots Among the Swiss Anabaptists

Authors

Duane Schlabach, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Keywords

Interlaken Switzerland ancestral roots, Lake Thun Oberhofen heritage, Amish community Holmes County Ohio, University of Montana Missoula journey

Abstract

The early morning summer sun cuts through the murmuring leaves of the towering maple tree rooted deeply on the edge of the large common area in Interlaken, Switzerland. It’s 2018, and the pealing bells from the Schlosskirche [castle church] still cut through the ground fog hanging along the water’s edge, crescendo over the lakes, and reverberate off the cliff walls like it has for countless generations. The pull of ancestral voices from the misty northern shorelines of Lake Thun in Oberhofen settles deep into the marrow of my identity. I stand in my Heimatort [place of origin] the land where my ancestors’ bones lie interwoven into the fabric of the fertile soil. I listen for their voices alongside the clanging of the bells, which they too must have heard on mornings like this one.

Recommended Citation

Schlabach, Duane (2025) "A Strand in the Web: My Amish Roots Among the Swiss Anabaptists," Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 61: No. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol61/iss2/4