Dee's News July-August 2012

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The Shaffer's New Baby

Little Sidney Sarah Ann Shaffer was born to Rachel and Devon Shaffer on March 25, 2012. She weighed 5 lbs. 9 0z., and was 19 inches long. Congratulations to Rachel and Devon on the birth of their first child! May God bless your family.

The Schrock's New Baby

Isaac and Saloma Schrock welcomed their baby girl, Brooklyn Hope, on May 1st at 2:41 pm.  She weighed , 9lbs. 5 oz. and was 21 inches long. Her brother and sisters, Jacob, Victoria and Shania, are happy to have little Brooklyn Hope in the family! Congratulations!

A baby shower for Katrina Slabaugh was given on Sunday, May 20th. The party was held at the Mohican Outdoor School Field Trip Center in Butler, Ohio. Alana and Kaye Zgela, sister and mother of Katrina, hosted the event.

A wonderful meal was served to friends and family of Katrina and Mose Slabaugh. The guests enjoyed games, chatter and, of course, the fun of watching as Katrina opened the special surprises for her baby. Mose and Katrina’s little one is due in July.

Congratulations to the soon-to-be parents!

Miriam Troyer graduated from the Case - Western Reserve School of Dental Medicine Expanded Function Dental Auxiliary program (EFDA). Her Friday class graduated on May 18, 2012.

According to Case – Western’s website, “the Case School of Dental Medicine EFDA Program, is designed to train Certified Dental Assistants and Registered Dental Hygienists in the art of Restorative Dentistry. Upon successful completion of this accredited program, an auxiliary is eligible to sit for the state certifying examination provided by the Commission on Dental Testing in Ohio.”

Miriam began the program on August 11, 2011 and attended once a week on Fridays. She will take her state of Ohio certification exams on June 16th. Congratulations, Miriam!

Serving Our Country in the Military

Let’s keep these soldiers in our prayers!

Ryan James Borntreger

Aden Keim

Jason (Nephew of Kevin McCann)

*To add a name to the list, please contact Dee*

Susan Schlabach participated in the fifth annual Union Hospital Run for Home benefit. Proceeds from the event benefit the Tuscarawas Valley Habitat for Humanity. Matt Ritzert, race director, said 495 people took part in the half-marathon, with more than 1,000 people included overall, as runners or supporters.

Susan said “It was very warm and I didn't get the timing I wanted, but I finished, and I guess that’s what counts. My time was 2:20.”

The 13.1-mile half-marathon took runners from Tuscora Park to Dover City Park and back to Tuscora Park, where runners finished inside Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium. The Tuscora Park Pavilion proved to be a busy place as it held the Health and Fitness Fair early in the day and then served as the place where competitors received awards and were able to get food and drinks following the races.

Congratulations on finishing the marathon, Susan!

From Joe Keim, written on the day of Dalton’s funeral:

“Today, we buried my two year old nephew, the son of my brother William (former Amish) and his wife Jenica. When we first heard that he passed away, it made so little sense and was almost unbearable to accept. But now that the funeral is over, we are already seeing God’s sovereign and eternal plan unfold and it’s starting to make more sense. Here is how:

1. Except for one brother, it once again brought our entire Keim family, spouses and children together.
2. During the funeral, Pastor John preached the gospel and, when he gave an invitation, many responded.

After the funeral was over, our whole family came together for more fellowship.

Tragedy explained: Dalton Keim, two years old, was mischievous and had no fear.  His mother was cooking a wild turkey on the stove, which had been boiling in water for four to five hours and as the family eagerly waited for the turkey to get done, little Dalton was behind his mother at the oven and tried to pull himself up by the oven door handle. When he did that, the whole oven tipped forward and all the hot water poured down over his body. William and Jenica just moved into this fully applianced house less than two months ago and had no idea that the oven was not anchored down and the oven could tip.

So quickly, joy and excitement turned into sorrow and heartache. Fourteen hours later and hundreds of prayers from the heart, God chose to take Dalton home to Glory Land.

Between 800-900 people came out for the viewing and about 400 attended the funeral. ”

If you would like to send the Keims a card, you can send it to:

William, Jenica & Malachi Keim
PO Box 128
Savannah OH 44874

A host of former Amish, and their English friends, were featured in two documentaries about the Amish and former Amish in the spring of 2012. Some of those featured were: Joe Keim, Mose Gingerich, Levi Shetler, Esther, Jonas, Chris L, Albert, Abe, Chris Y, Jonas, Cephas, Saloma Furlong, Ira Wagler and Gertrude Schlabach. Many more former Amish not listed had on screen time.

Both documentaries were partly filmed at the Bible Study taught by Joe Keim and hosted at Arlen and Dee Yoder’s house in Mansfield, OH. Filming was also done at Johnny and Miriam Keim’s home in Ashland, OH and many places in and around Columbia, MO, Lancaster, PA., Wisconsin and Indiana.

For information or to view online the two documentaries, click below or type the links into your browser.

For National Geographic: Amish Out of Order: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/amish-out-of-order/

For PBS: The Amish: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/amish/

8 Sister’s Bakery is now reopened at a new location in Mount Vernon! The Mount Vernon address is 5 E High Street. It is located on the square next to the tanning salon.

Hours:

6:30 Monday -- Friday

7:00-2:30 -- Saturday,

Closed Sunday.

Phone number: 740-392-2252

From the blog of the Amish Descendant Scholarship Fund:

“We've been having trouble accepting donations through an online payment system because we aren't our own non-profit organization and don't have an EIN number for the application. Fortunately, the Mennonite Church has an online giving site and they graciously offered to accept online payments for us and then transfer the payments over to our account with Everence. They will only be charging enough to cover the credit card fee, so they're helping us out a lot.

So we're happy to announce that we can now accept your donations online. I donated yesterday to try it out and it worked perfectly. It's perfect timing as we need to raise the funds to give our first scholarship this fall. We'll be accepting applications soon and we're hoping to have an idea of how much the scholarship will be before we release the application details.

Thank you very much for your donation and for your help in spreading the word. It's graduation season and that sense of achievement is in the air. That feeling should be accessible to everyone who wants it, not just those who can afford it. 

I'm so grateful for those people who encouraged me along the way and I hope together we can offer the same support to others who need it..”

The NEW donation link (type into your browser):  http://giving.mennoniteusa.org/organization/detail/4407

When I asked Ira Wagler to describe the day he received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, he pointed me to the blog post he had written about that day. After reading it, I decided to use his own words to share the moment. Ira wrote:

“The Jeep bucketed along the interstate, and right at 5:30 that evening, I pulled into Vincennes. Checked in and got the keys to VU’s Guest House, a very nicely furnished mansion on campus. No one else was staying there, so I had the place to myself. After cleaning up a bit, splashing some water over my face, I headed out to meet some old friends for dinner.

I’ve written before, about my first graduation from Vincennes, back in 1991. How not a single person from friends or family showed up to witness it. This time, though, I wanted at least a few. So I invited my brother Jesse and his wife Lynda. And I invited some of the Waglers, my surrogate family in Davies. Dean and his sister Rhoda said they would be there.

Vincennes University rolled out the VIP treatment for me and my guests. All the way. At 11:30, (the next day) we assembled for a banquet in my honor. President Dick Helton, members of the VU Board of Trustees, and other dignitaries. And of course, my guests. They showed up, right on time. Jesse and Lynda, and Dean and Rhoda. After the meal, a quick van tour of the campus, most ably guided by Assistant Provost Lynn White. And then the time was here. Time to robe and get ready for the ceremony.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been around academia. Fifteen years since I graduated from Dickinson Law. I’d forgotten how it is. All the pomp, all the seriousness of it. We mingled with the faculty in a side room. I was issued my robe and cap. It wasn’t a mortarboard cap, like I’d figured. Nah, this was a little 6-pointed thing, a doctor’s cap, I guess. And they came up and congratulated me, the faculty. The Trustees. You look at them from a distance, and it’s intimidating. But up close, they were just people. People who seemed quite genuinely thrilled to have me there.

And it all came down then, some of it in slow motion and some of it at lightning speed. Lining up to march into the arena. Waiting for the 400-some graduating students to walk in and be seated. And then marching out in procession up the center aisle to the stage up front. The basketball arena was packed out. Absolutely overflowing with at least 5,000 people. And my brain kind of went into cruise mode. You’re here. You’re being honored. Enjoy this moment.

After a brief opening ceremony, President Helton addressed the students with a ten minute speech. And then it was time to present the honorary doctorate. Mr. J. R. Gaylor, a Trustee, a great bear of a man with a deep, deep voice got up and stepped to the microphone. Whatever I have accomplished in my life, it was all laid out in the most glowing descriptions imaginable. He concluded. For these accomplishments in literature, law and business, we are presenting VU’s 2012 Honorary Doctorate of Letters to Ira Wagler. Everyone clapped as I stood. President Helton approached with the hood. I stooped a bit and he slipped it over my head and adjusted it. It flowed down my back.

Then I was handed a huge framed diploma. Doctor of Letters. Then “the microphone is yours,” President Helton whispered. I nodded and stepped up, clutching my little slip of yellow lined paper. My speech.

In a moment like that, you either freak out, or you don’t. Fortunately, I did not, at least I don’t think so. I looked out over the heads of the graduates and began to speak. Sure, I stammered a time or two, getting started. Who wouldn’t? But as I settled in, my voice was at least not shaking. I encouraged the graduates to follow their hearts. And then closed with a short quote from Thomas Wolfe. So, then, to every man his chance – to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity… Thank you, Vincennes University. Thank you very much.

And then it was over. As applause rolled through the stadium, I stepped back and sagged into my seat. And realized how tense and exhausted I was, as wave after wave of relief swept through me. The ceremony moved along then, as diplomas were handed to more than four hundred graduating students who marched across the same stage I had walked twenty-one years ago, back in 1991. Who knows where they will end up? Who knows what distant goals they will achieve?

No one knows. That’s the beauty of it. The human spirit unleashed has almost unlimited potential.

And that was Vincennes University, for me, on April 28, 2012. Whatever happens in the future on this wild and beautiful road, there will never be another moment quite like this one.”

(Photos by David A. Fisher, Vincennes University.)

From Sarah Garber: “Katie (Andy) Schwartz took a huge step of courage and got her GED in a very short time period. Katie wanted to get her GED for several reasons. She is a homeschooling mom of 4 healthy children and 1 with special needs. It is required for a homeschooling mom to have her GED or to have someone that has it to be looking after her so Katie chose to get her own diploma. She will also be able to help her special needs child more with it. Katie first went to the library to seek help in getting started but they wanted her to put so many hours into going to classes, she could not do it because of time constraints. So she searched on her own what was available and doable for her. She went to class only a few times for them to get a basic idea where she was at in her education. They gave her lots of self study material that she took home and worked on any chance she would get. Katie's husband took care of the kids for her while she went to class to take her test that she paid for herself to speed up the process. Katie had butterflies in her stomach the whole time, but she got her results the following week, and she had passed with flying colors! Katie is an amazing person full of energy and not afraid of hard work! She always puts others before herself, especially her family!

Katie's sister Fannie (Henry) Miller also got her GED. She wanted to earn hers to help with homeschooling purposes, too. She is a mother to three children.”

Four young ladies earned their GEDs on May 22, 2012 at the Career Center in Haysville, Ohio. Receiving their GEDs before a crowd of over 300, were Esther Miller, Lydia Miller, Lula Garber, and Sylvia Hershberger. Sylvia also received a special Award of Excellence for her work.

Congratulations to these six young ladies for their hard work and achievements!