Pinecraft Blogger Hopes PBS Film Could Change Amish's Minds

Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of stories on Sarasota's Amish and Mennonite village Pinecraft dealing with an increased demand of television coverage.

Pinecraft resident Katie Troyer teeters between the English world, the media and the Amish.

It's a delicate balance, but she manages it between taking photos for the Pinecraft Pauper, blogging and following her own relationship with God without attending church.

"I was looking for something to fill my empty heart, which was Christ," she said. "There was something about Pinecraft where I felt at home for the first time, anyplace, ever." 

Troyer was interviewed and filmed in February for a PBS documentary follow-up to The Amish from the American Experience series of feature-length documentaries. At this point, it's not known how much if any of the documentary will cover Troyer's story or life in Pinecraft as producers talked to many people for the new film.

The film is one of several projects that have filmed in Pinecraft over the last few months, with more proposals being considered, putting the eight-block-wide village in prime time for at least the next year. 

The documentary is produced by Callie T. Wiser, who was nominated for an Emmy for her work on The Amish American Experience film in 2012. Wise's team with Five O'Clock Films will also do work on the new feature length film. 

The new movie that was shot in Pinecraft is in the editing process and does not have an air date but is anticipated to be released in the next year, Wiser told Patch in a telephone interview.

"What we wanted to show was something fair that showed both the positives of the Amish religion of life as well as the downsides," Wiser told Patch about The Amish movie. "We didn't want to build up things that might be more sensational, but we didn't want to shy away from the negatives either."

Producers followed Troyer's Pinecraft-Sarasota blog for the last two years and then came to Sarasota for filming on Feb. 25 and 26, Troyer said. She was told that the producers wanted to take a look at why Amish leave the community.

"I'm a praying woman, and I said, 'God, I'll say yes if this glorifies you,' " Troyer told Patch.

Troyer was raised Amish and later jointed the Mennonites, who are similar, but have a different structure of church and are apt to use modern amenities and technology. She then renounced her religion and church, and never looked back.

"I was seeking God for 30 years before he saved me. I gave up absolutely everything," to leave the church, Troyer said. "My job, my money my religion—everything for Him." 

Coming to Pinecraft

Producers were interested in Troyer's personal story of how she left the Mennonite church, and wanted to capture her words and experience. Troyer said she hopes she makes it into the film.

Troyer permanently moved to Pinecraft 11 years ago after snow birding for a time, but she grew tired of finding a different place to live when she returned north. 

"I never went back to the same place because my dad had congestive heart failure," she said. "Ohio—I went there some summers, or I went to Tennessee to stay with my cousins. At that period of time, I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere."

Troyer, who had practiced in the Mennonite faith when she grew up, stopped going to church, but still remains faithful and spiritual. In Pinecraft, religion is tucked away a bit more than usual, so she was able to relax. 

"It didn't take me long to realize that the people that come down here, leave their religion at home," Troyer said. "They might not word it that way, they might not like it that way, but it's still what I see."

Who To Trust, What To Watch

Pinecraft residents may be skeptical of what is real and what isn't given the reputation of the Breaking Amish and Amish Mafia shoots in Sarasota over the past few months, and some of those views affected the PBS production. 

This original The Amish movie is a complete 180 from what viewers of Breaking Amish and Amish Mafia would watch. This is more journalism and educational than entertainment. Wiser has a journalism background and also worked for PBS' Frontline to solidify her credentials. 

Some of the shoots for TLC's Breaking Amish were confused by local residents with the PBS shoot, Troyer said. In one case, PBS was told to leave Pinecraft Park after getting the OK to film people playing volleyball, Troyer witnessed, because of the experience one upset resident had with the Breaking Amish shoot filmed at Pinecraft the week before, Troyer added.  

"Being Amish, we have been taught that TV is wrong, so it starts there," she said. "Anybody that is connected with TV is doing wrong" in their eyes. 

Given that it's peak snowbird and tourist season for Pinecraft and Sarasota, it can complicate feelings in the village when television cameras roam. 

"The people that come down here, they want nothing to do with anything," Troyer said. "They've got all their tourists up there in Lancaster and Indiana. In the summertime, they are loaded down with tourists, and I think in their subconscious mind, they want to get away from that."

On the other hand, the permanent residents work in the village and need tourists and visitors to make a living, she said.

"I don't know how they're going to react," Troyer said about the upcoming shows and movie with Pinecraft ties. 

In a village where modesty is preferred, and even regular cameras can cause some concern, Troyer told her Pinecraft-Sarasota blog readers that when it comes to TV cameras, be gentle:

"So I beg Pinecraft not to judge, not to chase out and condemn everybody that comes with a video camera. If God sends them to be used for His glory who are we to decide they are evil?"

Blogging is also a significant part of who Troyer is. She embraced blogging and photography after years of journaling and wanted an outlet to put her feelings out as someone who stopped going to church, maintained a relationship with God and also has dwarfism.

"Very few people understand me, and I learned to shut up because you can't persuade anybody, anyways," Troyer said with a chuckle. "But, I always needed an outlet, so for years, and I still do, I journal."

And even if Troyer doesn't make it into the film, she'll always have her own story to tell online.

Correction: An earlier version should have said Katie Troyer was raised in the Amish church.