TILIW – Max Bade

Chub Bade_Betty Bade_ordained minister_historian??_pretty good reading_Friedrich Muench_Vine Hill School

Gentle readers, the next TILIW Live interview, on Tuesday, August 11, features a lifelong resident of Femme Osage, Max Bade. He is a farmer, a husband, and a father.

Max Bade, the Femme Osage farmer. (Photo by Angela Stephens)

 Some of you might also recall that Max is the nephew of Fred (Chub) Bade, former owner of the Bade feed store in Augusta. Hence, Mike Bade and Sheila Beste are his first cousins.  Max’s aunt, Betty Bade, died in March of this year. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/betty-bade-obituary?id=61093779 

Fred "Chub" and Betty Parrott Bade are buried in Femme Osage on the hill above the church.

And Max will soon be an ordained minister of United Church of Christ…he’s about to make history.

But…let me just say something first about history. I never aspired to be a historian. No, I’m merely a conduit. And most certainly, I never aspired to be an aficionado of any of our local churches; no, no, no, it ain’t me, babe. But one interview leads to another, and the next thing I know, somebody’s handing me a book to help me understand what’s already in their head.

Such was the case on May 6, 2026, when Max Bade handed a copy of Builders of Our Foundations to both me and Angela to peruse.

By Rev. Henry Bode.

Actually…it was pretty good reading, and within its bindings I learned how the UCC church in Femme Osage started as a German Evangelical church in 1833. In fact, it was the first German Evangelical west of the Mississippi. Boy, did they have some hard times living the pioneer life, all the while facing harassment from Friedrich Muench of Dutzow, who considered the Femme Osage congregation to be evil.

Max, the soon-to-be UCC minister.

As I was saying before I interrupted myself, Max Bade’s ordination will take place at the Femme Osage UCC. And that’s a big deal to anyone who appreciates local history. In the last 160 years, Max is the first person from Femme Osage to don the robe in that historical church. Rest assured, Tell It Like It Was will attend the ceremony at 3pm, Sunday, August 9, at 4360 Cappeln-Osage Road, Augusta, MO 63332. The public is invited also. After his ordination Max will continue as an ordained minister serving both St. John’s Mantel UCC in Washington and St. John Casco in Leslie. He will also continue to serve on the Board of Directors for the Missouri Mid-South Conference and on the OCWM (our church’s wider mission) committee.

Angela’s grandson, Peyton, poses for her camera in the Femme Osage Valley while Max makes a repair to his baler.

Whether you already know Max Bade or not, you will undoubtedly enjoy his warm and straightforward personality, and there isn’t much he doesn’t know about Femme Osage. So, bring your questions.

Found in Vol. 2 of Cracker Barrel Country. Max's dad, Walter, and Max's uncle, Chub, went to school there.

-We interview Max at The Harmonie, 5333 Hackmann, in Augusta on August 11, 2026.

-Doors open for this free event at 6pm.

-Conversation starts at 6:30pm.

-Angela Stephens is our host.

-Cash bar available.

In all things be curious,

paulO