The Carpenter

About the Book

To get the most from this book, you must first transport yourself back to another time and place. In fact, you may not get past the first chapter unless you find a quiet spot under a tree, tune out all competing influences and shift your imagination into an unfamiliar setting. This book was written so that the more than fifty descendents of The Carpenter who are living at this time may become somewhat acquainted with their grandfather who died long before they were born. While the book is represented as a fictional account of a few months in The Carpenter’s life, the events actually took place. Real people, including the author, were born and grew up in that age. The Carpenter’s grandchildren may identify with some of his characteristics – interest in politics, pride in a particular skill, addiction to tobacco, concern for family, to name a few. A line from Ecclesiastes reads: “The people of long ago are not remembered…” The author hopes that this book will help those who were born or who are alive today because of The Carpenter to remember this man from a long-ago age. Was it really so different then?

About the Author

Carolyn Furlong was born on a farm near Chillicothe, Iowa. She was the fifth daughter of Carl and Leora McElroy and has one younger brother. She attended a rural school until high school age, when she enrolled in Ottumwa, Iowa High School. Carolyn Furlong was married to William Loy and later to Paul B. Furlong, both now deceased. She is the mother of four sons, Michael Loy, William Loy, Kelly Furlong and Kerry Furlong, and an adopted daughter, Kim Furlong Corlew. Ms. Furlong began working in the insurance business in Ottumwa, Iowa in 1953, a career she pursued after moving to Miami, Florida in 1961. She has been involved in a number of insurance organizations and served as president of the National Association of Insurance Women in 1980. She holds several insurance professional designations, including CPCU, CLU, CEBS and CPIW. She is a member of the Miami Lakes Congregational Church that is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. “The Carpenter” is Ms. Furlong’s second book, the first being “The Daenzer Story”, a biography that chronicles the history of the insurance business in the 1900s.