Families find silver lining in economic hardship

November 28, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

Not able to buy what they used to for Christmas, they take joy in simple pleasures.

NEW LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — Asparagus, zucchini and other vegetables grown on the family farm will replace more traditional Christmas gifts this year for the Schindler family.

Kathy Schindler and her husband, Leroy, grow an array of vegetables on their 20-acre farm near this western Ohio community, and she has canned much of the garden’s bounty.

So it was welcome news when Schindler’s daughter told her that what she wanted for Christmas were some of the jars filled with pickles, tomatoes, green beans and jellies.

Both Schindler, 64, and her 66-year-old husband are on Social Security.

“We’ve talked about it within the family this year that we’re cutting back. There’s no two ways about it,” she said, noting the faltering economy was a big factor.

“It really hit us trying to get the things we actually needed here for the farm,” including fuel for the tractor, she added. “When you’re on a fixed income, that takes a big bite.”

She and her husband have agreed not to exchange gifts and are perfectly fine with that.

“We have each other,” she said. “And Christmas is Christ’s birthday.”

Leroy Schindler sees a silver lining in the troubled economy. He hopes it might finally force people to move away from the commercialism he thinks has overshadowed the holiday season for too long.

“Maybe this economy situation is something the Lord’s got in mind for us to get back to being family,” he said.

Maureen Shaffer, 37, of Germantown, believes the hard times have strengthened her family, though she never expected both she and her husband, Paul, would lose their jobs within months of each other.

The Shaffers, married almost 18 years, are thankful they saved a year’s worth of mortgage payments to provide some cushion.

“I’m proud we’ve been able to keep our heads above water this long and proud to say we still have money in our savings account,” she said. “And I’m proud this didn’t tear us apart. We have grown stronger because we rely on each other more.”

And although holiday spending has to be reeled in this year, the Shaffers are intent on keeping the holiday spirit alive.

“It’s just what you put forth into it,” she said, noting how they make a “big to-do” when “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” comes on TV.

Her daughters look forward to joining others from their youth group at St. Augustine Catholic Church in baking cookies, making ornaments and singing carols at a local nursing home.

The Shaffers have a traditional gift exchange with three other families. This year, to cut costs, all 26 participants will gather at the Shaffers’ home to bake cookies and watch movies instead.

Maureen Shaffer hopes her daughters will look back with fond memories of the holidays even though these are challenging times.

She remembers when her father died one month before she turned 8, and her strong-willed mother, Catherine Jansen, was left to raise their 13 children on her own.

“She really made do and never made us feel like we were just scraping by,” Shaffer said. “I think this — both of us being unemployed — has brought this out in me.”