By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent KALIDA, Ohio — It’s not every day that a proposal of marriage draws international attention, but then again, Jason Kahle’s proposal to his girlfriend wasn’t exactly ordinary.
Using big sheets of black plastic and working in his father’s wheat field, Kahle constructed a sign, visible from the air, that read, “Aleasha, Marry Me?”
With his future father-in-law’s help, Kahle convinced his girlfriend, Aleasha Decker, to fly over the area early last month under the guise of taking pictures.
“It took her a few seconds to figure out what was going on,” Kahle said. “But when she did, her face had a look of shock and she was all excited and she said yes.”
The story about going up to take pictures of fields and homes wasn’t suspicious because Decker’s father, Ken, is a pilot who does that regularly to check field tiles and crops, Aleasha Decker said. She had no clue the proposal was coming until she saw the sign.
“I wasn’t expecting a proposal, in my mind, until I finished school,” she said. “It was a shock, but a pleasant one.
“It was a pretty funny moment. I was looking and taking pictures of houses and Jason is trying to get me to look at that field. I finally looked down and saw my name in huge block letters. It did take me a couple of seconds to figure it out.”
Kahle, of Kalida, and Decker, of Pandora, both 23, grew up not far from each other in Putnam County but didn’t meet until they both attended the University of Toledo (UT). Kahle graduated in December with a degree in mechanical engineering and Decker is working on her doctorate in occupational therapy.
“In this area, you meet most people from other towns in high school,” Kahle said. “But we didn’t meet until we were in college. It was a kind of crazy moment for both of us.”
Their grandfathers did know each other and they found they had mutual friends at home, Decker said.
After he graduated and returned to Kalida, Kahle came up with the proposal idea.
“I thought about it for quite some time and had some different ideas, but for some reason, this one clicked, so I was able to run with it.”
Kahle said he spent about 30 hours constructing the sign, with help from his father and brother. The plastic for the sign was cut into sections five feet wide. Each letter is 20 feet tall.
It was pretty easy for Kahle to keep the plan a secret from Decker, he said. The only people who knew were Kahle’s immediate family and Decker’s father.
“I knew I couldn’t give her any hints or talk about it at all so I kept it out of my mind as much as possible,” he said.
The proposal has generated interest locally and around the world for the couple. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and ran in 120 papers throughout the world, Kahle said.
They were even contacted by a journalist in Spain.
“We were completely floored by all the interest,” Decker said. “We were excited for it to be in our local paper. Then, when it went national, that was fun too. People we don’t know are sending us good wishes. It’s been exciting to share with professors and classmates (at UT). It’s going to go down in the record books for both of us.“
Kahle agreed.
“I didn’t think it would generate as much interest as it has. I thought that it was unique but I’m shocked at how much attention it’s received. I’m kind of a local celebrity around here. It’s been kind of fun.”
The couple have set a wedding date of June 5, 2010. |
