It all started on the night shift. Sheila was working on the assembly line when Karl came through, blowing kisses and winking at her. She laughed it off—until he handed her a note. It read, "Can you meet me downstairs in the cafeteria?" Sheila showed the note to her best friend Georgie, who immediately encouraged her to go. But Sheila wasn’t so sure. "I don’t want to," she insisted. Still, curiosity got the best of her, and she finally agreed. Down in the cafeteria, Karl didn’t waste any time—he kissed her. And in that moment, Sheila knew. It was something about his lips. Karl wasn’t about to let that moment slip away. That same night, he had his best friend Larry drive him all the way to Sheila’s parents’ house in West Chester, hoping to see her again. But Sheila was out with friends. Her mom called to let her know Karl was waiting at the house, and Sheila was stunned. Her friends urged her to invite Karl to where they were. By the end of the night, it was too late for Karl to catch a bus back to Chester. Sheila asked her mom if he could stay, and with a firm warning , she said "he better stay on the couch and not go upstairs!" Karl spent the night. The next morning, Sheila put Karl on the bus home, and as he waved goodbye, he looked like a sad puppy dog. Then… silence. Days passed, then weeks, with no word from Karl. When he finally called, Sheila didn’t hold back. "What, do you have a girlfriend or something? Why didn’t you call me?" she asked. Karl confessed: "I didn’t want you to see how I was living." Despite his hesitation, their connection only deepened. They spent more time together, and Karl got to know Sheila’s family. A few months later, he asked her father for permission to bring Sheila to Chester. Her father agreed but with one condition: "If you take my daughter down there, you better not mistreat her." When Sheila arrived at Karl’s home, she took everything in. The kitchen was good. The living room was good. But the house was under construction—much like their future together. Instead of turning away, they rolled up their sleeves and started fixing it up, building not just a home but a life together. After some time, Sheila found herself feeling uneasy being home alone while Karl was at work. She called her parents, asking if they could stay with them for a while, and they welcomed them with open arms. Eventually, Karl and Sheila got their own place in West Chester. And the rest? Well, that’s history. Now, as they continue on this journey, they invite you to share in the love story that began with a wink, a note, and a kiss—leading to a lifetime of love.

Back in the mid-to-late 1980s, Karl made his way to West Chester looking for a new opportunity—and maybe a little more than that. He applied for a job at Gagliardi Brothers, the makers of Steakum Steaks at the time, and while filling out his application, he noticed a girl across the room. Turning to his best friend Larry Bannister, he said, "You see that girl right there? I’m going to make her my wife." That girl was Sheila. For a while, Karl didn’t see her again. He thought they’d be working the same shift, but Sheila was on second, and Karl was assigned to third. One evening, as Karl arrived for his shift meeting, he caught a glimpse of her and blew her a kiss. Sheila’s best friend, Georgie, noticed. Karl passed along a note asking Sheila to meet him in the break room. Sheila was shy and hesitant, but with a little push from Georgie, she agreed to go. Karl kissed her right there in the break room—and something sparked. Later, Karl came back to West Chester with his friend Larry to see Sheila, only to find out she wasn’t home. Her mom gave her a call, and Sheila—who was at a friend’s house—ended up seeing Karl that day after all. At the time, Karl didn’t have much but he had a lot of potential and even more heart. He drove an old car with plastic over the windows and a passenger seat held up by a baseball bat. On one of their early dates, they parked at the community center to get some alone time, and when Karl leaned over to kiss Sheila, the entire passenger seat collapsed. They laughed, and kept falling for each other, literally. As their love grew, they moved in with Sheila’s parents while getting on their feet. Karl worked hard to give them a better life, and before long, they moved into their first apartment together—331 B 10 on West Washington Street in Terwood Court. The rest, as they say, is history.