Bishop Michael McGovern stands with the Range family after the Spring Farm Blessing on April 26 at Braeutigam Orchards in Belleville. The bishop blessed the people, the seed and grain, the machinery and tools, the animals and the land (David Wilhelm photo).
A threatening sky and strong wind were followed by light rain, but they weren’t enough to throttle the annual Spring Farm Blessing.
The blessing was held April 26 at Brauetigam Orchards in Belleville, which is owned and operated by Tom, Pat and Kurt Range, members of St. Joseph Church in Freeburg.
Tom and Pat Range have managed the 400-acre orchard since 1980; it’s been in the family since 1831 — 30 years before the first shots of the Civil War.
Diocese of Belleville Bishop Michael McGovern blessed God’s people, the seed and grain, the machinery and tools, the animals and the land.
More than 100 people, many of them students, along with Deacon and Rural Life Coordinator Mark Kabat, walked with the bishop as he offered the blessings.
Following the blessing of God’s people, the Rosary preceded each stop along the procession.
“There’s no doubt it was a very good day for us,” Tom Range said. “As I’ve said before, if anybody asked us to host this, why would I want to turn down a blessing? I’m glad we had the bishop, the other priests and all the other people here to visit us. A little rain doesn’t hurt us. It was just right.”
Braeutigam is located on Turkey Hill Road, east of Belleville and north of Illinois 15.
The farm has 320 acres of corn, soybean and wheat and 80 acres of apples, peaches, cherries, strawberries and other fruits along with tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, sweet corn, pumpkins and other vegetables.
“Those 80 acres occupy more of our time than do the 320 acres,” Range said with a chuckle. “Not that there isn’t any work on the 320 (acres); there is. But the fruits and vegetables require a lot more hand labor. You’ve got to accept that if you’re going to raise those things.”
Bakery items also are available at Braeutigam, and beef cattle, chickens and hogs are raised on the property.
“This was the (82nd) anniversary of my mom and dad’s wedding,” Pat Range said, referring to Lester and Marie Braeutigam. “I was raised in this house, and we now live in this house.”
Tom and Pat Range were married in 1970.
Pat Range said it felt like her parents were in attendance at the Spring Farm Blessing.
“Especially on their anniversary,” she said. “It was absolutely amazing, and (Bishop McGovern) is wonderful. We were glad to have him here.”
Braeutigam began as a general farm. It wasn’t until 1935 that it began raising fruit crops. Peaches quickly proved to be the most popular, as people would travel from miles around to pick them directly off the tree. That remains the case today.
For more information on the farm, call 618-233-4059.
