The Lead.

The family of Mary L. and John I. Brodman, a couple from Kirby, are starting a new scholarship fund to help students from Wyandot County attend Marion Technical College. Fairy Wagner, the oldest grandchild, and Dr. Amy Adams, the youngest, wanted to pass on their grandparents’ focus on the importance of education.

“Grandpa wanted one of us to go to college. That was drilled into our heads!” said Dr. Adams, Vice President of Planning and Advancement at Marion Technical College.

The Brodmans raised their family on a farm outside Upper Sandusky where they had worked since the 1800s when the family immigrated from Switzerland. That farm is still in the family today. The Brodmans raised Belgian horses, dairy cows, and sheep.

“They were very hard workers. They loved Wyandot County and passed that on,” said Wagner.

The Brodmans married in 1927 and took a three-month honeymoon through Europe. Then they came home to Wyandot County where they raised their four children: Paul, John Junior, Mary Catherine Thiel, and Janis Collet.

This devout Catholic family attended mass in Kirby at least once a day. They enjoyed going uptown to Upper Sandusky on a weekend night. The girls would go to the movies, the boys would play cards, and the parents would visit and get the local news, their grandchildren recall.

The Brodmans hoped one of their children would be able to attend college. As that wasn’t possible, they hung their hopes on their grandchildren being able to further their education.  Many of them did attend college. Wagner grew up in the house across the street from her grandparents and visited often. They loved their grandmother’s baking, especially her German sugar cookies, as treats when the work was through.

John Brodman Senior died in 1960. Janis and her husband, George Collet, bought the family farmhouse from Mary. Janis Collet was born in the farmhouse and died there.

Wagner went to work at Whirlpool, which she retired from. Amy’s father, George, also worked at Whirlpool in addition to farming. Amy’s brother, John, won a scholarship for the children of Whirlpool employees that helped him attend college.

Both of Wagner’s children graduated from Marion Technical College. One became a nurse while another went into real estate. Wagner’s son, Paul, has recently purchased the family home and is trying to restore it to its original condition when it was built around 1912 after a fire destroyed the previous home.

“We’re excited to help other first-generation college students get ahead,” Wagner said. “This is a great way to honor our grandparents and keep their values alive.”

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