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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2022 | THE GLOBE
DGLOBE.COM
‘Hometown’ honeys prepare to tie the knot Family setup leads to lifelong love By Jane Turpin Moore The Globe Worthington hen considering cool pickup lines, how about invoking the cute girl’s grandpa? Well, it worked for AJ Quade, a 2016 graduate of Westbrook-Walnut Grove High School. He’s headed to the altar later this month with the date of his dreams, 2017 Worthington High School alumna Alyssa Landwehr, daughter of Joe and Laurie. “I’d gone up to Marshall to hang out with a friend who was an elementary ed major at SMSU,” said Quade, 24, explaining Landwehr was then enrolled in the same program. “I saw her and my friend said, ‘Yeah, that’s Alyssa Landwehr, Gary Debates’ granddaughter.’” “So I walked up to her and said, ‘I can’t believe I’m talking to Gary Debates’ granddaughter,’” said Quade. “And that was my pickup line.” The threads that conspired to intertwine Landwehr and Quade, who began dating in late 2019 and became engaged the following fall, trend long and twisty, with all roads leading to Westbrook — and yes, to Landwehr’s maternal grandparents. “My grandparents live in Westbrook and my mom grew up there, so
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“It was kind of nice because with the Westbrook connection we had a lot of things in common, and we talked about how we’d seen each other growing up. “And of course, he was cute.” Even so, Landwehr needed a bit of coaxing to agree to a first date with Quade, according to his recollection. “She was a little hesitant to go out with me but her mom told her, ‘Oh, the Quades are nice people, you should go,’” he said. Quade didn’t take his own charm for granted. Instead, he learned Landwehr was missing a girlfriend who was in Sioux Falls for the summer, so he offered to drive her there and back to see the friend. “She got to hang out with Miranda, and I got to talk with her on the ride over and back,” said Quade. “It seemed pretty worth it to me.” Part of the trio’s evening plan was dinner at Texas Roadhouse, but the line was ridiculous. “We went next door to a different restaurant that was having its opening night, and Contributed / Sydney Leigh Photography now that’s our favorite Alyssa Landwehr and AJ Quade anticipate their June wedding after the pandemic place,” said Quade. “And lengthened their engagement to nearly two years. then we went bowling. It was a really good night.” circle, and Landwehr’s from Worthington but every year at Christmas grandpa, Gary Debates, neither ever bothering to Engaging we went to Christmas was a well-known strike up a conversation. engagement tale services at Trinity and loved Westbrook But on that fateful Lutheran Church,” said Quade studied teaching legend. 2019 evening in Landwehr. precision ag and ag It’s easy to imagine Marshall, the pair found business at Ridgewater Coincidentally, so the young couple plenty to talk about — did Westbrook native College in Willmar peering over hymnals enough, apparently, to Quade with his parents, before returning to farm at each other year after unleash a lifetime of Tony and Kelly, his full-time with his dad year while singing marital chitchat. three siblings and near Westbrook. “Silent Night” on “I liked his energy, their extended family. Landwehr, meanwhile, Christmas Eve, with and he was vibrant,” The Quade/Landwehr graduated from SMSU Quade being mildly said Landwehr, 23. “We grandparents were in 2021 and now teaches curious about the girl talked a long time. in the same social fifth- though eighth-
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grade ESL classes in Windom. Their engagement, like their meet-up, unfolded in adorable fashion. “He proposed to me at a pretty place outside of Walnut Grove that runs along Plum Creek where there are groves of trees,” said Landwehr. “It’s a special place to his family.” Quade agrees, though the engagement process was trickier to navigate from his perspective. “I always liked that spot, but all through harvest I was planning how I would propose. I thought maybe I’d do it in the field when she brought me meals,” said Quade. “Then I got to thinking, will she want pictures in front of a combine? Is she dressed up when she comes out to the field?” He reconsidered, instead hatching a plan that involved his brother Austin in a slight ruse. Quade scheduled a Saturday evening dinner with Austin and his wife, and Austin was directed to call and say he was running late. Then, Quade was to tell Alyssa they had to stop at the Plum Creek site to collect a heater he’d “left” in the deer stand (where, in fact, his brother was hiding to capture photos of the moment). “I was trying to time it with the sunset, but Alyssa was running late, and then when we left the yard there were two calves in the middle of the road,” he related. “I said, ‘I don’t have TIME for this right now,’ and they both walked right
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