Sharilee Brown was thinking about getting another dog, so she looked inThe Western Producerclassified section. Her eye fell on this ad: “Down to earth SWM, 32, handsome, fit, caring, spontaneous, employed country boy seeks NS honest, caring, intelligent, attractive, slim woman, 20 to 30, for potential lifetime relationship. Please include photo and phone number.”
It wasn’t a dog ad, but nevertheless, it caught her attention.
“I cut it out and I did sit on it for a couple weeks, and then I decided I really had nothing to lose,” Brown recalled last week. Sharilee Brown is now Sharilee Begin. She married the guy in the ad, Ron Begin, this spring, as you can see in the photo below. TheProducerbrought them together, which we think is very flattering.
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Both Sharilee and Ron grew up on farms and their parents still farm, hers between Kindersley and Rosetown, Sask., and his near Ponteix, Sask.
Ron now works at a John Deere dealership in Swift Current and Sharilee is a first-aid instructor.
“I knew if it was someone who was reading theProducer,I’d have a lot in common with them,” said Sharilee, noting today’s trends toward on-line dating services. “When you’ve got a farm or country background, the WP appealed to me.”
Did she have reservations about answering a personal ad?
“The first time I talked to him, I asked, ‘are you an axe murderer?’ He laughed and said, ‘no, but maybe you are!’ ”
Seven years after meeting and then maintaining a long-distance relationship, they were wed in April.
A framed copy of the ad that brought them together hangs in their Swift Current home. Although they don’t farm, Sharilee hopes they can one day buy an acreage. They also continue to subscribe, as a salute to their newspaper matchmaker.
“We will send a letter and updated picture when we celebrate our 25th anniversary,” said Sharilee.
We hope they do.
