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Frank J. Wagner and Anna Mary Thelen were married in St. Peter’s Church in Volo on October 18, 1893. Anna, who went by her middle name, Mary, was from Johnsburg and Frank was from Volo.
After 7 years spent living in Volo and elsewhere, they put down roots and spent the next 56 years in Spring Grove. Their first child, Michael “Happy” was born exactly one year after his parents wedding day on October 18, 1894! And their next two children were born exactly seven months apart! Daughter Philomena, was born August 11, 1897 and son Joseph J., was born March 11, 1898, so for five months out of every year they were the same age. Adding to the zanyness, the next son, George M., shared the same birthday as Joseph - March 11 - two years later in 1900. Lastly, daughter Julia was born in 1906 and she joined the fun by marrying her husband, Walter Gabe, on October 18, 1923, her parents’ wedding anniversary date, in St. Peter’s parsonage.
When they first moved to Spring Grove in 1900, Frank and Mary rented a farm, but by 1910, Frank was working at the Wieland Dairy and owned the house at 1912 Main Street. By 1920, Frank left the dairy for a job at the Fish Hatchery.
Son Michael “Happy” served in WWI in France and letters from him to his parents were published in the newspaper. In his October 1918 letter, he bet his dad (“you old sport”) $1 that the war would end on New Year’s Eve. (It ended on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918).
In the 1920s Frank got involved in local politics, first serving as Burton Township Supervisor then becoming a village trustee. He also had a “Special Spring Grove Police badge”. In 1928 he became Village President, a role he maintained until he chose to leave office in 1949. His “pleasant, jolly manner” won him many friends in the community.
In the late 20s or early 30s, son Happy got married and settled in Chicago. He had two sons, but when his wife died in 1938, he and the boys, one an infant and the other 6 years old, moved in with Frank and Mary. Happy commuted to his job at the Bowman Dairy downtown until his sudden death in 1955 at age 60. In the 1940s Mary’s mother was ill and also lived with the family until her death in the home in 1942.
In 1953, they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at an open house held in St. Peter’s Church hall. Three years later they moved to the County Home in Hartland where Mary died in 1958 and Frank died in 1959. They left 15 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren. They are interned in St. Peter’s Cemetery on Main Street.
Story by Laura Frumet
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