"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - When Patrick Benson popped the question to Barbara Olsen two weeks before Valentine's Day in 1976, she didn't want to accept his marriage proposal in the typical ordinary way. So she turned to the Staten Island Advance. That year, the paper had kicked off a playful new Valentine's Day tradition - Love Lines - a popular addition which continued for decades. Love Lines were special, short advertisements aimed at those in love, those falling in and out of it and those looking for commitment."
"'Pat, I'd be happy to marry you,' Barbara Benson, 72, recalls the ad saying. And their 'happily ever after' continues today. The couple will celebrate 50 years of marriage in October - three children and a lifetime of memories later. 'They all thought I was crazy that I didn't answer him right away,' said Barbara Benson, who grew up in Richmond, but now lives with her husband in New Jersey. With a laugh, she admits that some of the details are now a bit fuzzy in both of their memories."
"After The Love Lines were published, Barbara's response was mentioned in an Advance roundup story about the launch of the new concept and the entertaining posts it had generated. 'Barbara finally took Patrick off the hook by consenting to nuptials,' the story read, under the headline 'Hey, lover - you're good news.' The two were married in Our Savior Lutheran Church, West Brighton. A reception in LiGreci's Staaten followed in the same community. And though the couple's marriage started with that engagement acceptance, their love had blossomed eight months earlier, when the two were introduced by a mutual friend."
The Staten Island Advance launched a Valentine's Day 'Love Lines' feature in 1976 consisting of short, playful advertisements for people in various stages of love and commitment. Barbara Olsen used the Love Lines to accept Patrick Benson's marriage proposal two weeks before Valentine's Day, replying with the line, "Pat, I'd be happy to marry you." The couple married at Our Savior Lutheran Church in West Brighton with a reception at LiGreci's Staaten, had three children, and will mark their 50th anniversary in October. The two had been introduced eight months earlier by a mutual friend, and some early details are now fuzzy.
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