Moses Lake woman bases game on farm life
Courtesy photo/Sally SchwabSally Schwab's children and grandchildren as they appear in the October edition of Family Circle magazine. Sally is seated in the front row wearing a black shirt. Back row (from left): Shawn Wash, April Wash, Chris Kauffman and Harold Schwab, Jr. Family members shown seated are: Megan Kauffman, Caitlin Kauffman, Connor Wash and Harold Schwab III. Also pictured are: Amy Kauffman, Alyssa Wash, Chase Wash and Gina Schwab (holding Xander Schwab).
Local creator's game grabs national attention
MOSES LAKE - If you hang out at Sally Schwab's Moses Lake home, you could end up sacking potatoes and sewing the bag shut.
Finding and digging up ash from Mt. St. Helens' 1980 explosion isn't out of the picture either. Just take a drive to the Moses Lake Sand Dunes.
You could also be asked what year the Schwab family farm was brand-certified by the state. Then you'll show what you know by drawing the brand's design on a piece of paper.
If you're sensing a theme here, you're right.
The above scenarios are part of a game Schwab devised called Farmvivor.
She patterned the activity after the TV show "Survivor" to show her grandchildren aspects of farm life, according to Family Circle magazine. "Survivor" is a popular show where contestants team up to compete in contests for cash.
Farmvivor isn't being sold in stores or featured on TV, but is mentioned in the magazine's October issue.
The story is on page 42 on the bottom right-hand corner with a photo of her family, she said. The magazine invites readers to e-mail submissions detailing special ways they bond with their families.
Schwab, 56, said she developed the game in May and was interviewed by Family Circle in June. She describes the game as active because the family plays outdoors and gets exercise.
Her husband Harold Schwab Jr., their three children, their spouses, grandchildren and mother-in-law Opal Schwab, 82, played the game.
Her children are daughter Amy Kauffman and her husband Chris, daughter April Wash and her husband Shawn and son Harold Schwab III and his wife Gina.
Sally's grandchildren are twins Caitlin and Megan Kauffman, age 7, Alyssa Kauffman, 12, Connor Kauffman, 8, Chase Kauffman, 5, and Xander Schwab, 1.
Sally's son, an Army doctor, lives in Missouri and his family would play the game over the phone, she explained. Her two daughters live in Spokane.
"We're already making plans for next year's game," Sally said. "There's so much history. We can go on for years and years."
Her father-in-law, Harold Schwab Sr., died last year, so she made up the game about the farm.
The family started gathering for a special activity once a month after Sally was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago. The cancer is in remission, she noted.
Sally works as a registered nurse at Samaritan Hospital's emergency room.
She is married to Harold Schwab Jr. The family farm they live on belong to Schwab Sr., who purchased the turkey farm in 1936.
The farm is currently leased to other people, but Schwab Jr. oversees the farm, she said.