Oregon Public Broadcasting

The financial crisis on Wall Street and in banks across the nation can seem pretty abstract. But the effects of the slowing economy are already showing up in the lives of ordinary people in the Northwest.

For some, the downturn has been devastating. For others, such as one hay farmer in Pasco, there's a new sense of uncertainty. At the same time, a few small businesses are seeing surprising benefits.

We have three snapshots of the Northwest economy from three of our reporters. The first comes from Doug Nadvornick, in the Idaho panhandle.

Joe Mundy's drive home in Priest River takes him past the JD Lumber Mill. It's a tough drive. This month, the mill laid off Mundy and about 200 others when it was sold to a competitor and closed.

The mill was one victim of the slow housing market across the country which has driven down demand and prices for wood products.

Now Mundy has lost a good salary. But he's more worried about losing his health insurance.

Joe Mundy: "It wasn't the greatest on the planet, but my wife has been fightin' cancer for four years and she has good insurance and this picked up the co-pay. We lost that the minute we walked out the door."

Mundy is used to working without a safety net. He was a logger for 30 years and experienced many cycles of boom and bust.

Joe Mundy: "Working in the woods you don't have insurance or anything."

Including a pension. The 61-year-old with the bushy gray beard says when he accepted his mill job four years ago he opened a retirement account for the first time. But that's been hit hard by the stock market and now he has to figure out how to make a living.

Joe Mundy: "We've got unemployment comin'. It'll keep you from losing stuff. That's about it. What I will more than likely end up doin' is getting into some on-the-job training. I can find something around here to squeak through."

Squeaking through is a good description for timber towns like Priest River where lumber has always been king.

I'm Doug Nadvornick in Priest River, Idaho.

And I'm Anna King in Pasco, Washington.

With the stock market dropping dramatically and widespread uncertainty on the credit market, small town banks are feeling the heat too.

Chuck Steltenpohl is president of Bank Reale in Pasco, Washington. His bank didn't make any sub-prime mortgage loans. But like all banks -- the future is uncertain. He's seen a slow down of car, home and commercial building loans.

Chuck Steltenpohl: "Me personally, if I was making 20 to 25 loans a month that was a pretty busy month. Now I'm probably making 15. Credit is tight right now."

But Steltenpohl has one advantage -- his location. Circles of potatoes and rows of apple trees are watered just down the road. Trucks loaded with produce whiz by outside Steltenpohl's office window.

Chuck Steltenpohl: "Ag is good. Agriculture loans are right now in demand, because banks want to diversify."

And in farm country it's loan season. Harvest is over and now it's time to figure out budgets for land, fertilizer and seeds for next year. But just when Steltenpohl wants to make loans, his farmers don't need them as much.

That's because farmers have enjoyed record prices on just about every commodity. That means many don't have to borrow money for next year.

One of those profitable farmers not taking out a loan for next year is Chep Gauntt. But with the world economy pushing commodity prices down, his good profits may not last.

Chep Gauntt: "It's not possible to know what's going to take place next year in the world. You know supposedly a lot of learned people didn't see this melt down in the stock market. We don't have any outside source of income. We have to consistently manage to try and make money. "

Many of Gauntt's crops make their way around the world. For example his hay feeds dairy cows in Japan. Nowadays, it's looking like the weather might be easier to predict than the world economy.

I'm Anna King in Pasco, Washington.

Anne Buck owns the Olympia spice shop Buck's Fifth Avenue.

I'm Tom Banse in downtown Olympia with a business that's thriving in a down economy.  Buck's Fifth Avenue is the name of a little shop that sells culinary tools and spices. 

What you see is what you smell -- floor to ceiling, jars of spices from all over the world.

Anne Buck: "We don't have store hours.  We have sniffing hours."

Store owner Anne Buck opened her retail business in 1973.  So she's seen her share of economic expansions and slowdowns.  For her, now is a good time.

Anne Buck: "We're busier than we ever have been.  Oh, busy, busy, busy."

The reason, according to sales assistant Brook Ahnemann, is that people aren't eating out as much.

Brook Ahnemann: "It's been really busy because people are coming in and cooking at home."

Buck's Fifth Avenue also operates an e-commerce website and sells spices to restaurants.  Restaurant sales are down, but fortunately that's just a small segment of Buck's business. 

Looking forward, she doesn't know what to expect from the turbulent economy.

Anne Buck: "I'm just counting my blessings that we're one of the few that's lucking out because of it. But it doesn't mean it will last.  That's what worries me."

For now Buck is sticking to her strategy.  She says she doesn't borrow money to buy inventory or meet payroll.  She's staying small and keeps on just one part-time helper. 

Her interaction with the credit markets is limited to charging merchandise to her bank card.  And she pays off the balance at the end of each month.

I'm Tom Banse in Olympia.