| Mel Horst,
Photographer of the Amish A
native Lancaster Countian, Mel
Horst has been photographing the
Amish since 1948.
Ever
sensitive to Amish reticence
about photography, Horst has
approached his projects with an
eye to recording the Amish as a
culture rather than as a tourist
curiosity. His fluency in the
Pennsylvania Dutch dialect has
enabled him to photograph scenes
that would not have been possible
for an outsider.
Horst
began his career as a
professional freelance
photographer in 1957. Prior to
that he worked four years as a
photographer for Armstrong World
Industries. Drafted into the
Army, he spent two years as a
military photographer. He then
used the GI Bill to attend
Albright College in Reading, PA,
graduated in 1957 with a degree
in history.
In
addition to photography, Horst
founded Applied Arts Publishers,
which has produced a series of 40
pictorial booklets on antiques,
folk art, and the Pennsylvania
Dutch.
He
also owns and operates the Folk
Craft Center and Museum in his
home village of Witmer. Displayed
here is Horst's collection of
antiques, tools, folk art, and
furniture in an authentic village
setting.
The
Center also features a sound and
slide film on the Pennsylvania
Dutch way of life, working
craftspersons, gardens, and
restored 18th and 19th century
buildings.
Often
appearing in those buildings is Jakey
Budderschnip, the
photographer's alter ego and most
entertaining enterprise. Jakey is
a never-ending lode of
Pennsylvania Dutch folk tales and
humor whose wit and country
manners get him invited to more
than 100 appearances every year.
Jakey has appeared all over the
East Coast. He is a fixture of
the annual Pennsylvania Dutch
Folk Festival and has been
featured on the morning program
on WIOV-FM radio in Ephrata.
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