Posts by Saloma Furlong
Stepping off the Tightrope: A Journey of Faith, Struggle, and Redemption
Today I bring you Part 1 of a story: By Marilyn Coblentz I was born in the hollows of Virginia. My parents met at a children’s home on the other side of the mountain and when they got married and started raising their young family, they chose to stay with the church community there. In…
Read MoreUnveiling the Unseen: Navigating Obstacles and Opportunities on the Way to College–Part 2
Today I bring you the second half of Naomi’s story. You can read the first part here. By Naomi Clark, PhD Taking Ownership of My Literacy Leaving the Fold A few years after finishing high school, I moved with my family to western Oklahoma. In keeping with the tradition, I was ein großes Mäd who…
Read MoreUnveiling the Unseen: Navigating Obstacles and Opportunities on the Way to College–Part 1
Today I bring you another triumphant story of someone who grew up in a Plain community where education was used as a means of social discipline and how she found her way to college and beyond. The joy is obvious in Naomi’s story of how she thrived with an education designed for self and professional…
Read MoreFrom PhD to MD by Dr. Harley Yoder
After a pause (I will explain the pause at a later date), I return to publishing stories from attendees of the symposium “How Our Amish Heritage Influences Our Education and Career” at Elizabethtown College on June 8. All of the stories we heard that day were triumphant, and this one by Dr. Harley Yoder is…
Read MoreAmish Descendant Scholarship Fund Presentation at Symposium: How Our Amish Heritage Influences Our Education and Career
Photo of Naomi Kramer Yoder: Photo credit: Callie Wiser Today I bring you the third blog post in the series about the symposium of this past Saturday, June 8. I had mentioned in my blog post on Sunday that Naomi Kramer did a presentation at the symposium on Saturday. It is hard to portray a…
Read MoreFeaturing Luella Gilbert from “How Our Amish Heritage Influences Our Education and Career” Symposium
I promised I would publish more posts featuring speakers from the symposium on Saturday. Today I am introducing you to Luella Gilbert. I will allow her to speak for herself, for she is quite capable of doing so. Here she is: Hi, my name is Luella Gilbert, and I am from Holmes County, Ohio. I…
Read MoreHow Our Amish Heritage Influences Our Education and Career: A Symposium
Photo from left to right: Jonas Brennaman, Ivan Fisher, Paul Nisly, Nancy Nisly, Rose Fisher, Luella Gilbert, Saloma Furlong, David Furlong, Aleta Schrock, Freeman Miller, Lizzie Hershberger, Harley Yoder, Lois Miller, Erma Miller, Naomi Clark, Marilyn Coblentz, Naomi Kramer Yoder (Links are to those who have blog posts here on About Amish and Beyond) Several…
Read MoreWidespread Abuse and Massive Coverup in Amish Country
“The Amish are not exempt from an independent investigation, and yet as soon as the CCI gets involved, it is no longer an independent investigation.” ~ Fellow Pennsylvania Advocate Recently there was a report about an Amish mother reclaiming her children in the York Daily Record after the children had been separated from her for…
Read MoreSexual Abuse of Amish Women and Teenagers – The David Clark Case
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. ~ Maya Angelou There was widespread abuse of Amish women and teenagers that took place in Oak Grove, Missouri, by a man named David Clark who posed as a naturopath with a chiropractor license. He targeted Amish women and girls who had little…
Read MoreBuilding a Cultural Bridge in Lancaster
Several weeks ago, I started a part-time volunteer job at Safe Communities. I wrote about the restorative experience here on this blog of being a participant at the retreat led by Linda Crockett and Mark Harris in the spring. I was already in awe of Linda and her leadership skills, and at the retreat I…
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