In November we visited the place where it all began: Willshire, Ohio. We say that because the reason we fell in love goes way, way back to this small town in Ohio. After seven years together, this was our first time visiting Willshire together so it was a meaningful visit. We want to take you back to where it all started.
In 1961 a creative young girl named Debbie was born to the Masons. She grew up in Willshire, Ohio and became friends with another young girl named Ronda. The two of them grew to be the best of friends in this small farm town. Debbie had four other siblings but Ronda was an only child, so she and Debbie became very close. That closeness did not fade over time. They both grew up, got married, and pursued their careers. Debbie moved to Florida in the 80’s but despite the distance, their friendship held up over the years.
Both Debbie and Ronda had two children each. Family vacations would occasionally bring their two families together. It was during those special times that young Zachary fell in love with Stephanie’s big brown eyes and young Stephanie fell in love with Zachary’s charming ways and sexy jaw bones.
Left: Steph | Right: Zach
One Christmas in the 1990’s, Stephanie stole Zachary’s school picture from Ronda’s christmas card she had sent to Debbie. And what do ya know, Zachary had also stole Stephanie’s school picture from the card Ronda had received from Debbie.
The two youngin’s had developed a childhood “crush” on each other which was innocent for many years. Until 2010…
Zachary had come back from serving in the Marines and he was moving back home to Ohio to start college. Within a few weeks of being home, he took a very big risk. He hopped on a plane to Daytona Beach, Florida and his life would forever be changed.
Steph & Zach’s time together in Florida, as friends reconnecting after years of not seeing each other, went beyond well. As expected, they not only grew to become each others best friends but after just one week together they fell madly in love. Zach came in like a gentlemanly Prince Charming and swept her off her feet, literally. The rest is history.
Now you know why it all began in Willshire; a small town but an extremely meaningful town for us. It’s where our mothers met and built a beautiful friendship which allowed our love story to begin. A story only God could have written.
Now, back to our visit in November 2017. We were visiting family in Ohio for Thanksgiving so we spent a day traveling up north to Willshire to visit Zach’s family farm.
It was a day we will forever cherish as we spent quality time with family. We also got to see the farm house, the belongings passed down through the family, the old barn, the fields, and “the truck”.
Ever since we started dating, Zachary has gushed about his love for this truck his grandfather has at the farm. It’s a 1967 Chevy c-10 truck in classic red. His great-grandfather originally bought the truck and his grandfather rebuilt the engine and kept it running for him. Seeing the way Zachary looked at that truck melted my heart. He was like a little school boy with the widest grin across his face! I have never seen him get so excited over something. This truck means so much to him- it’s a piece of family history that he wants to cherish forever. After seeing him sitting in that truck, so do I.
Zachary took me on a drive across town (which took all but five minutes) and we made our way toward the old Mason house where my mother grew up. I got to see her old house off of Highway 49 near the Indiana border. About a minute after driving past her house, we started hearing some extremely loud clunking sounds from under the truck. Oh Lordy, we were breaking down! I thought for sure we were done for.
Debbie’s old house
Fear not, Zach is a car guy and within minutes we were good to go again. It turns out, the bar that holds up the spare tire had just fallen down so nothing serious. Phew!
Our ride in the Chevy was one of the greatest moments of my life. The way Zachary lit up and looked so proud driving that truck around town truly melted my heart. This man was making me fall more in love with him in the tiniest, least eventful town in Ohio: Willshire.
inside the old barn
the old Plymouth
Willshire is a small village in Van Wert County, Ohio with a population of under 400 people. There is one post office, one gas station, and one restaurant (Becky’s which has the best pies around).
Willshire is a town that will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
