President as Matchmaker

The front page of our local paper, the Hunterdon County Democrat, carried a story with a picture which looks like it came out of a fairy tale. A local girl, Brooke Hardy, tried out for American Idol. While she did not make the cut there, she made an impression in Washington.

Her longtime boyfriend is a Marine Staff Sergeant, Chris Kelk. His most recent assignment was at the White House. Reassignment from the White House includes a photo with the president. Brooke was with Chris when he went for his picture with President Bush. According to the article, President Bush said to Chris, "Don't let this one get away. You better marry this girl...She's such a beautiful girl."

The next evening Chris made a very romantic proposal. After dinner at the Perryville Inn, the couple took a walk on the Milford Bridge at sunset. Chris did the traditional gesture of getting down on one knee to propose.

You should be able to access the complete story and picture on www.nj.com/hunterdon. Now we can all beleive in fairy tales again!

Bonnie DeCarolis