Our Family

Introducing Jack as he was when he went to serve in the second World War. He was 21 years old. Wasn't he handsome. No wonder I fell for him.
We would like to tell you about our family. My name is Frances and I am an octogenarian. I love my computer. My hobbies are sewing, bridge and babies. My husband is Jack. Nine years ago he had a disease called Guillian Barre and was paralyzed. With the help of good medical care, and physical therapy, including the support of the family, he is able to walk with two canes and drives his car with hand controls. He likes to talk to others who have the disease and encourage them.We have seven sons and four daughters, and when they are together, a rowdier group would be hard to find. They are loving, family oriented people and we are very proud of them. Jerry is the oldest followed by Mark and then Mary Anne. We had a set of twin boys, Peter and Paul, and another set of twin boys, David and Daniel, before Jerome was 7 years old. Then came John and Sheila, Therese and Julia.

Jerry and his wife, Mary make their home in Central Illinois. They have 3 children and 3 grandchildren.
Mark and his wife, Judy have 4 children and are currently living in Northern Illinois.
Mary Anne has two children and lives in Northern Illinois.
Peter and Paul are our first set of twins and both currently live in near us. Peter and his wife Stephanie have 7 children, and 9 grandchildren.
Paul and his wife Brenda have 2 children and 2 grandchildren.
David and Dan are our second set of twins. David and his wife Lori have 5 children and one grandchild and they live just four blocks away.
Dan is a single accountant living in Los Angeles, California.
John also lives in our town and has 3 children.
Sheila is single, is a book editor and lives with her guide dog in Northern Illinois.
Therese and her husband Larry have 2 children and live near us.
Julia is single and is working on her Doctorate at Notre Dame in South Bend Indiana.
We now have twenty-nine grand children and sixteen great-grandchildren. Family gatherings are somewhat overwhelming, but lots of fun. Whenever we need help, it is only a phone call away.

When the children were little, my parents moved in with us when they were having problems taking care of the furnace and shopping. They were in their eighties. Mom had kindergarten every morning for the twins and John while my Dad did the laundry, so they were a welcome addition to the house. Having them in our home did much for our chldren. My parents were such caring and giving people. Our children loved them dearly, and still talk about the things they learned from them.
All of the kids had their chores to do and everyone chipped in where and when necessary. When it came to laundry, I did 20 or 30 loads of wash a week. I had boxes for the kids with each ones' name on it. After the clothes were dried and folded, I would put the clothes in the appropriate kid's box. It was their responsibility to take their clothes to their rooms and put them away
The neighborhood kids also ended up camping out at our house a lot. All of our children's friends seemed to congregate at the Schneiders. Fixing meals for such a big family (and their friends) was a challenge. the logistics were too! We had a bread salesman who delivered twenty loaves of bread twice a week. He brought them in and put them into the freezer. We also had a milk machine like the ones used in restaurants. We used fifteen gallons of milk a week. Our children's friends, loved the milk machine, and helped with the amount of milk consumed. It was much colder than out of a refrigerator.
With all the meals, came a lot of recipes, created and found. We have listed below a few of the family favorites. Hope you like them.

Recipe List


Bread and Cakes
Banana Bread

shortcake

Irish Soda Bread

Grandma Bradley's Chocolate Cake

Banana Cake

Wacky Cake

White Cake

Cookies
Anise Cookies

Butterscotch Refrigerator Cookies

Butterscotch Squares

Date Drop Cookies

Ginger Cookies

Vegetables
German Potato Salad

Mina's Spinach

Cole Slaw

Potato Cakes

Meat Dishes
Hassenpfeffer

Pot Roast with dumplings

Beef Stew

Ham and Potato Casserole

Slumgullion
Other Desserts
Grape Pie

Baked Apple

Fudge Pudding

Apple Dumplings

Creme Brulee

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