Alva Review-Courier -

LEWIS, Kan. (AP) — Some people have art hanging on the walls of their home; Angie Castaneda has family pictures.

The living and dining rooms are covered with her progeny - all 127 of them.

Framed photos are seen at every turn of the head in the home she and her late husband, Frank Castaneda, shared during their 68 years of marriage.

The Hutchinson News reports that Angie and Frank had 12 children. In 1965, Josephine died when she was 5 months old. The other 11 children grew up to marry and have their own families, who now have their own families — 114 members total with two more on the way. Plus, one of her great-grandchildren has recently made the petite 86-year-old a great-great-grandmother.

"Blessed," is how the very private and humble woman feels about her large family.

"God gave us a large family, and it's beautiful."

Angie was born in Galva and was part of a family of 13. They moved to Mullinville and then Greensburg. When she was a teenager, she was a dishwasher and waitress in a Berks Cafe. A co-worker told Frank Castaneda about "the little Mexican girl."

"He came into the restaurant to meet me," she said. It wasn't love at first sight, but they dated for a year and a half and their love grew. During that time, she also worked as a telephone operator, asking "Number please?" to every caller and then entering the cords into the switchboard.

When they were both 16, they eloped without telling anyone. They went to Raton, New Mexico, but were told to go to the next county because they were too young. They were married in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Angie admits now that their families were not happy with their decision at the time. They even had the police looking for them. When the couple returned to Kansas, they stayed in Garden City for two weeks with relatives. Then they got up the courage to go to Lewis and Frank's parents, who lived in the same house that Angie lives in today. Frank's parents told them they needed to go to her parents and ask for forgiveness. They did and all was forgiven. In 1949, they had a real wedding in Kinsley.

Daughter Francie Jarvis, the fifth child, and one of seven daughters, said she was never lonely growing up in such a large family. There was always somebody around.

Angie's childbearing years stretched from 1948 to 1971, and she was a stay-at-home mom. She taught her daughters how to make tortillas.

"That was our bread," Francie said. They learned to help prepare meals because they all had to pitch in around the very busy house.

"Because there were so many of us, we were close," Francie said. "We were raised to be respectful to our elders. Aunts and uncles always came around; we just knew our extended family."

When they have reunions, they are usually in the summer close to Angie's birthday. They gather at the Lewis Community Hall, which is large enough to accommodate them for meals. Some of the family stays with Angie. Others go to Kinsley where daughter Francie lives, while others stay at a bed and breakfast in Kinsley and Best Western in Greensburg.

For 15 years, the Castanedas operated Lewis' Golden Manor Restaurant. Angie would serve fideo, a vermicelli dish, every Wednesday along with her homemade enchiladas, tostadas, and tacos and refried beans. She also was known for her pan-fried chicken and buttermilk pancakes.

The tradition of cooking Mexican food was handed down by Angie's mother and then passed to her daughters.

Angie is a gracious lady who doesn't want attention. She is content to live quietly. She starts every day sitting at her dining room table writing in her journal. In the tiniest print, she describes the weather and temperature and records what children called her and whom she called. She also writes about her activities during the day. She has been journaling for the past six years, ever since one of her daughters gave her a book to record her thoughts.

Angie spends time going through family photos and tries to arrange them into albums.

"I love sitting here," she said, at the table where she writes every morning. There is a view of the countryside on the edge of this small town just 15 miles east of Kinsley on U.S. 50.

"They are all on my mind every day," Angie said of her family — all 127 of them because two 16-year-olds fell in love, eloped and built a life together.

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Information from: The Hutchinson (Kan.) News, http://www.hutchnews.com