Little Brown Church holds 67th annual Marriage Reunion

BY JENNIFER LANTZ, Of the Nashua Reporter

Forgiveness, Attitude, Incentive, Trust and Happiness equal FAITH, and that is the key to a happy marriage, according to the pastor of the Little Brown Church.

Keeping the love alive was the message from Pastor Drew McHolm during the 67th annual Marriage Reunion and Renewal of Vows weekend. He said FAITH is good advice for those who are newlyweds or who have been married 70 years.

The event started on Saturday evening with the pastor’s reception and continued on Sunday with preservice donuts and coffee during registration, picnic style lunch, music, prizes and fun for all ages.

The annual event brought more than 100 registered guests, which was more than last year. Many couples brought their families along to celebrate the renewal of their vows.

Those couples who were married for more than 50 years were seated in the church if they wished, while more than 75 people enjoyed an outdoor service.

This was the first year that any couple, whether married at the church or not, could come and renew their vows. Some married couples make it an annual event.

“The service was so meaningful and so perfect,” said Jean Young. She and her husband, James, traveled more than 1,000 miles from Pennsylvania to attend.

The Youngs are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. They had heard about the famous church and the annual reunion from friends who had attended last year.

Over the afternoon the Youngs won two prizes, first for the farthest traveled and the next for the longest married couple who were not married at the church.

Dorothy Nagel said, “We get along,” when asked about the secret to a long-lasting marriage. Nagel and her husband, LaVern, were married at the church 69 years ago and said they were grateful their daughter brought them to the event. The Nagel’s won the prize for the longest marriage for those married at the church.

Dorothy was a country school teacher before getting married, and she taught her students about the Little Brown Church in the Vale as part of the history criteria back then.

She said she always wanted to get married at the church, so when she found her future husband farmer and the time came, it was decided they would travel to Nashua to get married.

LaVern was so excited to attend the reunion, he was awake and getting ready to leave at 1 a.m. and woke up Dorothy in the process, he said.

This Monticello couple are both are now in their 90s, and said they will always treasure the historic church where they began their married lives, along with 76,000 other couples throughout the years.

The 67th annual Marriage Reunion at the Little Brown Church was a tremendous success, said Pastor McHolm.

“Couples from all over Iowa and from other states came to renew their marriage vows,” he said. “The church was packed with another 75 people sitting in the tent outside joining in the worship service and taking part in the vow renewal.”

There were many volunteers throughout the year and the weekend who helped getting everything ready to make the day memorable for all who attended, McHolm said.

“We had great food supplied by Dave’s Restaurant in Charles City, music by Phil and Travis from Cedar Falls and the Little Brown Church’s own Jesse Boatright,” he said. “My thanks to all the members and friends of the Little Brown Church for the incredible work they put in to make this event so special.”