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LEWISTOWN – Larry Schardt's one-of-a-kind Nativity turned out to have three identical copies.
The discovery came in 1984 during Schardt's second trip in two weeks to a sprawling flea market in Englishtown, New Jersey. The first visit with his partner, Judy, ended with Schardt cradling a set of brightly painted figures on his lap during the ride home. The return visit ended with them staring at three more sets on the vendor's table.
"When I saw them, I immediately pointed them out to my partner, Judy," Schardt said. "We looked at the other sets and then at each other, and laughed and laughed. We found it absolutely hilarious."
The laughter has lasted more than four decades. So has the Nativity. Schardt, a Lewistown writer, recounts the holiday misadventure in "A Nativity of My Own," his latest contribution to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Schardt moved into a one-bedroom cabin in Havice Valley in November 1984, shortly before his first Christmas there. The cabin stood near Bald Eagle State Forest and fulfilled his dream of living in the woods. It also gave him a home in which to continue a tradition that had shaped his childhood holidays.
"Growing up, our family Nativity Set was a centerpiece of our holiday traditions, so I wanted to continue that tradition in my new home," Schardt said.
Schardt searched department stores, antique shops and craft shows, but none of the sets felt right beneath his first Christmas tree. Then, Judy invited him to the Englishtown flea market, where 40 acres of vendors offered better odds.
They had walked back toward the parking lot when Judy spotted the Nativity. The set included Mary and Joseph, a shepherd carrying a lamb, three wise men, barn animals, an angel and the baby Jesus in a manger. The painted figures caught Schardt's eye.
"I tried to negotiate a better price, but he wouldn't budge," Schardt said.
The seller told him the set was one of a kind and had been found in his grandmother's attic. Schardt paid the full price, carried the pieces home and arranged them beneath the pine branches and white lights of his Christmas tree.
A week later, he and Judy returned to Englishtown for last-minute shopping. When they passed the same vendor's table, the grandmother's attic appeared to have become considerably more productive.
Three matching Nativities sat for sale.
The set lost its claim to rarity and gained a family story. Schardt still displays it each Christmas when the religious meaning and the old joke return together.
"It always makes me laugh and puts a smile on my face every time I look at it," Schardt said. "The memory makes it extra sentimental."
That memory appears in "Chicken Soup for the Soul: That Christmas Feeling," a 352-page collection released Sept. 29 and credited to Amy Newmark, publisher and editor-in-chief of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Schardt's three-page contribution runs from pages 74 through 76 in the "Deck the Halls" section.
The collection contains 101 true, personal holiday stories selected from thousands of submissions, according to the publisher. The stories cover the season from Thanksgiving through New Year's and include family traditions, reunions, acts of kindness and holiday mishaps. Royalties from the book go to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program.
Schardt submitted his story in mid-May and learned in early July that it would appear in the book. The turnaround, about four and a half months, was shorter than for some of his previous stories.
This marks Schardt's fifth appearance in a Chicken Soup for the Soul collection. "Any time I get a story in Chicken Soup for the Soul, it's an honor," Schardt said. "I feel blessed to get another story selected."
The publication also completed an active month for Schardt. His story "The Witches of the Laurel Highlands" appeared in "Cashmere Ghost and Graveyards at Night," a Halloween anthology released Aug. 31. The story follows a writer struggling with writer's block and heartbreak before meeting a witch who changes the direction of his life.
The Christmas story began with an ordinary wish: to place a Nativity beneath a tree in a small cabin of his own. Its comic turn kept it alive long after the vendor's sales pitch collapsed.
"Even though it was over 40 years ago, it's a memory that lives on, and it's a tradition I love to relive every year," Schardt said. "It seemed natural to share it so others might get a kick out of it."