1960's Quest For Love - Operation Match

BOSTON GLOBE -- Feb 14 -- In the 1960s with a few Harvard buddies, Chris Walker cofounded one of the first computer-generated dating services, Operation Match. Now, after a lifetime spent in real estate development, Walker is attempting to revive his matchmaking business with a self-funded free dating site Personal Quest. The site is still in developing stages, and will offer"first date" video conferences, voice greetings, and detailed search options. Personal Quest is set to launch April 15 in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. FULL ARTICLE @ BOSTON.COM

Comments

[Mark Brooks]

This was forwarded to me to add to the comments section...
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My wife and I just read the short article in the Boston Globe, Feb 14, regarding your new venture and your link to Operation Match. In the fall of 1965 as a Senior at Boston College, I plunked down $3 and submitted my Operation Match questionnaire. Of my six names, I contacted three, dated two, and married one. My wife had tried Operation Match the year before and was contacted by 15 people. She was skeptical when I called on the day the results were received. We set up a first date for December 15, 1965. After going to the Boston Common to look at the Christmas decorations, we went to a curfew-shortened hockey game at BC.

After the holiday break we continued seeing each other and got engaged in the fall of 1966, and married in August, 1967. It's now been 42 years, and lots of mostly good times. We now have two married daughters and 5 grandchildren. Very few people know how we met. Blind date always seemed a bit more conventional than computer date.

So thanks to you and your colleagues from Harvard who founded and ran Operation Match. Best of luck with your new venture.

Thanks again,

Art and Sherry
Swampscott, MA

[Fernando Ardenghi]

Mr. Brooks, is it exactly the same proposal of 1966? The Return of the Living Deads?

It says
"
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It's Simple – Although we have unique features you've never seen, it's easy to use.

..................

PersonalQuest is privately held, with dedicated teams of online dating experts in California, New York, Virginia and Miami.
"
Who are those experts?
What is new, different or better in this approach than what's already available???

Fernando Ardenghi.
Buenos Aires.
Argentina.
[email protected]

[Sam Moorcroft, ChristianCafe.com]

Wow, 30-40 years before the rest of us got started, people were being matched, e.g. Art and Sherry.

Mark, did they send you their post via snail mail? We have this nifty thing called the Internet now. It has a really cool mail system called "email" that's pretty much instant. No punch cards required.

[Brenda Serotte]

This is amazing! In doing research for my second memoir, I came across this website. I'm happy to tell you, Mr. Walker, that that Jeff and I have also been married for 42 years, thanks to Operation Match. Funny, but we could have sworn it cost $2, not $3!

We both liked each other's names on the list, were drawn to it, but first went through three other disastrous dates apiece before we met. I nearly threw the list away. Jeff was in the Navy at Lakehurst, New Jersey, at the time; I worked in New York City as a secretary and saw the ad for Operation Match in a college newspaper in the advertising department--Maybe it was the Harvard Crimson, I'm not sure.

I came from the Bronx, Jeff from Manhattan. We were very different and yet, very much meant for each other in lots of ways. We weren't the perfect match, but close! We got engaged six months after we met, and got married on December 18, 1966. I've always wanted to thank you guys who made up THE LIST!

Sincerely,
Brenda & Jeff
Davie, Florida