Cary and Dennis were at the age when they wanted to join the Cub Scouts and the meeting to take in new members was on Thursday evening. So Fran took his two young sons to this meeting and they were put into a den that was already formed.

This den met in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Schultz (Charlyn) on Circular Street.

This was great, but the Scout Masters said that they were very short of den mothers, and since Fran and Rose had talked this problem over before he left home, he volunteered her services, but not to start until the first of the year.

Well, soon the first of the year came along and with that her group of Cub Scouts. Every week they met in her basement meeting room. Her two sons then transferred to her den.

She saw many Cubs through her den and into the Weblos, and worked many hours preparing for her meetings and planning things for these boys to make.

Through all of this she became a very good friend to Mrs. Schultz who helped her in her Scout program very much and they went to many meetings together, especially the all-day pow-wow at Findlay, Ohio.

One time they even ran the whole Pinewood Derby themselves.

Then death struck suddenly in the middle of the night at the Schultz home. By this time Fran had taken over the Weblo group and had the oldest Schultz boy in his group, and thus became friends with Mr. Schultz. Therefore his death was a great blow to both Fran and Rose, and they tried to help this young widow as much as they could.

This all happened about two years before Rose's death, but in the meantime Char kept on with her Scout activities.
She and Rose were two out of about a half dozen to ever receive the Den Mothers Training Award.

It was about this time that Rose's illness was forcing her to give up her den. They asked her if she would, with all of her experience, consider instructing new den mothers, but she didn’t feel she could handle that either. So for a year before her death Rose had given up this program she loved so much. But there at the funeral home were her Cub Scouts in full dress uniform.

Now that death had struck again, it left Charlyn very sad.

Over the period of Scouting these four people had become very close. And knowing all of the sadness connected with losing a mate, she began on a Sunday afternoon to take her three sons and visit the Brickner family and see if she could help get the evening meal ready.

Sundays got to be such a lonesome time for the Brickners too, so sometimes Fran would take his three boys and three girls to visit at the Schultz home.

Is it any wonder that their friends began to say, "We believe that Rose and Lou are engineering this from heaven?" Yes, you have guessed it. These two people were married, and by the same young priest who was at the head of the Scouting program at their parish and who had seen them through all of these sorrowful times.

With nine children between them, they decided that her home was not big enough, and his home was not either. So they bought a bigger, lovely new brick home, sorting out the better pieces of furniture from each.

During this unusual wedding ceremony the children all had a part to play. The bride and groom prayed for the grace to raise these children.

This is the prayer they said together;

Dear Father above, we come to you full of love and with the children of our first loves.

We ask for the assistance we need to be a good husband and wife, and a good father and mother.

Never doubting our love for each other, let us both love all of the children enough to step aside when they must walk alone.

We ask that our love always be "more than yesterday, less than tomorrow." May you grant these wishes through your Son Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.

Then during the general intercession during the Mass they said:

For Rose and Lou who loved and lived the ideals that we hope will grow also within this marriage.

For these children, that they may grow to live and love in such a way as to become " real people."

For Father Kevin Ricker, that he will remain a friend of our family in our joy as he was in our sorrow.

For the children that they may become truly brothers and sisters.

If perchance you should ever visit their new home, your heart would swell with pride at this new combined family. But mostly I hope that you will notice on their large living room wall hangs a picture of a young mother, and a picture of a young father, with nine baby pictures grouped around them.

And if you should chance to wander over to the cemetery not far from their new home, you will see a stone that reads Louis and Charlyn Schultz, and then back about four rows right along the driveway you will see one that reads Fran and Rose Brickner.

(End of Chapter 19)