Earlham and Levi Coffin and the Underground Railroad

Sunday morning found us dropping Cousin Donna at the Dayton Airport and heading back to Indiana!

Leaving Donna was bittersweet but we parted with serious promises to get together more and a sense of  sisterhood for the three of us that will never disappear.  And, what did we discover?  Shirley and Donna (who are only a year apart in age) have so many similar mannerisms and its like watching a young Mary and Evelyn together.  Donna and Kay are both United Methodists and absolutely made Lutheran Shirley dizzy comparing stories of annual conferences and their churches.  All three cousins shared their faith journey in a deep and loving way that will sustain us in the months ahead.

First stop in Indiana?  Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion (ESR) in Richmond, Indiana.  Earlham was first established as a boarding school of secondary education and turned into a college over time.  It had a strong anti-slavery witness and has always had a strong peace testimony.  In 1881, Indiana Yearly Meeting gave up its ownership of the college, conveying title to a corporation.  Dennis' sister's husband, Duane Hansen, is a graduate of ESR.  To read more about Earlham School of Religion go to:

http://esr.earlham.edu

The Peace Pole --- May Peace Prevail on Earth -- in many, many languages.


I don't think that Shirley and I had realized how much we would come in contact with our Quaker heritage on this trip.  It's been delightful!  In 1972 when Dennis and I were newlyweds we came to Lynn, Indiana just north of Richmond, Indiana to visit his sister and husband who were pastors of the Lynn Friends Church.  The Levi Coffin House in Fountain City (halfway between Richmond and Lynn) had just been opened and I was dying to go visit it.  But, I was outvoted....but managed to go see it 41 years later!!! LOL

Ok, it was a Sunday and it was closed but that didn't stop me from looking in the windows and walking around the grounds imagining how this federal style house could have have sheltered over 2,000 slaves in their quest for freedom.  If you'll go back in the blog to read about the Underground Railroad you'll see the Coffins featured there.

To read more, go to http://www.waynet.org/levicoffin/

Another great picture of Shirley and her school flag.

Barn at the back of the property.

Next it was on to the Hoover Presidential Library and Birthplace in West Branch, Iowa.   Shirley will tell you all about it.  But, let's just say our Quaker heritage journey continued.