“They knew we loved them, we trusted in God. We prayed a family rosary after supper,” says Agnes.

Agnes had two brothers who were Franciscan priests, and a sister who was a Joliet Franciscan nun, but after meeting Clete at a barn dance, she chose a different vocation. The couple married Oct. 5, 1940, at St. Mary Help of Christians at Green Creek. Agnes was 24 when their first child was born; she was 42 when their last child was born

“I was so busy, I didn’t think much about it at the time, but I really feel like children need to help out at home — gardening, housework, cleaning chickens,” says Agnes.

“We cleaned maybe 50 chickens some days,” recalls Martha.

“Our children all knew how to work and they would take care of each other,” says Agnes. “It wasn’t always real easy raising a large family, but it was all worthwhile.”

Once their children were grown and married, Agnes became very active in the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, serving a term as president of the Springfield Council of Catholic Women.

Her hobby is quilting. “Mom makes a quilt for every grandchild’s eighth-grade graduation,” says Martha, adding her parents never miss a family baptism, wedding or birthday party.

When he was farming, and after he retired, Clete was a trustee of St. Aloysius Parish, mowed the parish cemetery for years, and also served as president of the Bishop Creek School Board for a number of years. His hobby was fishing. Even though he’s retired, Clete still loves to garden, growing most of the vegetables that make it to their dinner table. He also enjoys growing flowers.

Two of their sons are large-scale farmers. Their oldest son is a retired judge, and their youngest son makes feeders.

Martha and her sister Rita, married brothers, Mike and Tom Fearday from Sigel, who came from a family of 11 children. Their parents, Eleanor and Wilbur, like the Brummers, valued their Catholic faith.

On July 3, the senior Feardays celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. They were married July 3, 1940. Wilbur farmed for the first 25 years of their married life, at one time having as many as 500 cows on their farm. In 1965 they sold their family farm, moved into Sigel, and purchased Sigel Equipment, a business that remains family-run to this day.

Five mornings a week Wilbur and Eleanor start their day at Mass at St. Michael Church in Sigel. Then they stop at Burger King for “their usual” breakfast — a banana muffin and biscuit for her, an egg and cheese croissant for him.

During the day Wilbur likes to keep an eye on the action in the equipment company lot, just across the street from their home. He also likes to keep up with news, watching CNN throughout the day.

The Feardays have a caregiver who cooks for them, and helps clean their house. Every night Wilbur and Agnes say a rosary together before they go to bed.

When Wilbur first retired from his business, they spent their winters in Florida. But in recent years they decided to stay in Sigel. Wilbur used to love bicycling; it wasn’t uncommon to see him pedaling to Terre Haute on his bike. Health problems have kept him off his bike in recent years. Still they are happy and, in particular, they enjoy visits from their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Twenty years ago both the Fearday family and Brummer family were hit hard by sorrow, when Rita Fearday was diagnosed with brain cancer.

Father Chuck Edwards, now pastor of St. Paul Parish in Highland, was parochial vicar of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Effingham from 1987 to 1989. “When I was assigned to St. Anthony, many celebrations occurred bringing the Feardays and Brummers together,” says Father Chuck Edwards. “I was always amazed at the how deeply rooted these families were in the values of faith and family. God always came first, family always came second. Clete and Agnes Brummer and Eleanor and Wilbur Fearday certainly formed their kids well in the faith.

“When Rita was passing from cancer, most of the siblings and their spouses and the children of Tom and Rita were there at their home. We were singing Catholic hymns. There were literally 50 to 60 people there singing these Catholic hymns. We asked their youngest boy, a little guy with red hair, freckles, and missing a front tooth, what he wanted to sing. He chose This Little Light of Mine. We were singing it, when two little ceramic angels that were on a shelf in the bedroom where Rita was, fell off the shelf. I thought they were flying down to take her. It is something I’ll always remember.”

The Feardays have 34 grandchildren and 55 great-grandchildren.

The Brummers have 59 grandchildren and 100 great-grandchildren.