There is joy: A true story
By Anna Perkins
Westfield Township, Ohio
Age 16
Winner
Family. A Christmas tree. Singing carols on a neighbor’s doorstep. Watching her children’s delight at receiving the...
The bootie
By Marie Walker
Leetonia, Ohio
Honorable mention
Tears flowed from my eyes while I hung the little red and white stuffed elf. It was Carol’s favorite Christmas...
The Win-win
Honorable mention: Sharon Sweda, Huron, Ohio
Jacob slumped as Katherine cleared the table around him. Sensing he'd skip choir rehearsal, she chose to pray, rather...
A friend for Christmas
By Jaclyn Krymowski
Hinckley, Ohio
Age 12
Honorable Mention
Sarah watched the winter snow fall fast, thick and heavy. This would be the loneliest Christmas ever. For...
Marie’s Christmas miracle
Eileen Gress, 16, of Shreve, Ohio
It was Christmas Eve, and Marie sat in her rocking chair. She was thinking about Christmas and how her...
2009 Children, Holiday art and writing contest
Christmas stories of love, wishes, lessons learned and animals filled our mailbox and inboxes in the past few weeks and we couldn’t have been...
A Christmas Surprise
Abigail Langmeyer
Age: 7
Cortland, Ohio
There was a little girl named Jane who lived on a farm in Texas. She wanted a cat for Christmas, but...
The gift of remembrance
Winner: Alejandro Villalva, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army Reserve, 42, San Antonio, TX
Richard sat silently, transfixed, his entire attention riveted to the photo that...
The Christmas tree
By Brandon Hozian
Kirtland, Ohio
Age 11
Winner
There once was an evergreen tree that got planted in a forest. It wanted to grow to be a...
A Cat’s Christmas Dream
Athena Pantelides, 10 yrs.
Louisville, Ohio
Snowla the cat was watching the snow fall outside of her house. Snowla’s owner spoiled her. You see...
