Angie Wilson photo Ellen and Derick, August 2022.

ESCANABA – To “pop the question” can only mean one thing.

The time and place of a wedding proposal is never forgotten.

Hallmark movies and perfume commercials try to capture romantic moments like these.

A handsome gentleman down on one knee and a beautiful blushing woman surrounded by breathtaking scenery is the dream setting for most young couples.

Things like buying an engagement ring, asking a father for his daughter’s hand in marriage and picking the perfect time and spot to propose seem like old-fashioned things.

But things like that never go out of style.

Most women remember the exact date, time, location and weather of the proposal.

Upper Michigan has a lot of wonderful settings for outdoorsy couples. The moonrise on Little Bay de Noc, the waves along Lake Superior or the quiet of a wildflower-filled country meadow can be awesome places to propose.

With today’s modern camera phones, that special moment can be easily captured and the joy shared almost immediately with family and friends via the computer.

Back in my mom and dad’s day, a wedding proposal came during a very lovely date night. Sometimes it was at a restaurant or a fancy meal at home, but it all most always had candle light, flowers, wine and sweet music.

My dad chose a clever way to propose to my mom. Back in the 1950s, nylon hose were a popular thing with the ladies. For a Christmas present Dad bought Mom a pair of nylons and also an engagement ring. Then he asked his sister to wrap the gift up with the ring attached to the hose. So when Mom received the Christmas package she thought she was just getting nylons.

But as she unwrapped it she discovered a ring inside as well and Dad on a knee asking her to marry him!

(Just for the record, my dad never wrapped a single gift in his life. He always asked one of us girls to do it for him)

My husband proposed to me over a nice steak supper on a chilly but colorful October evening.

And now this summer has thrown a love story into family our family history. To me it does not seem real or possible that one of my own children can be thinking about marriage.

My daughter Ellen, who to me seems like she was in eighth grade last week, has been dating a sweet boy named Derick, who to me seems like it was just yesterday he cut his finger in shop class, since they were sophomores in high school.

Derick knew of Ellen’s love of the beautiful lavender fields on Washington Island, Wis. My brother and his family live on the island and we have visited the lavender farm several times.

After asking my husband and me for our blessings, Derick planned with some friends a trip to Washington Island.

On Aug. 13, the only rainy weekend of the summer, Ellen and Derick became engaged.

So now after I go through some more treatments out at the Mayo Clinic, I will have the great joy of watching them graduate, start careers and plan a life together.

Reminisce with your family and talk about when you got engaged!

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Karen (Rose) Wils is a lifelong north Escanaba resident. Her folksy columns appear weekly in Lifestyles.