Good News: Identical twins mark 100th birthday

Jan. 27--At age 100, they no longer pull the pranks they did in their youth. But that may be because they live in different cities, haven't dressed alike in decades and now style their hair differently.

Louise Hill of Mandarin and her identical twin sister, Laura Franklin of Houston, got to reminisce about the days they fooled their mother, their teachers and their boyfriends at a birthday party Jan. 20. Hill's son, Jim Hill, and his wife, Sandi, hosted the party to celebrate the twins reaching the century mark.

To tell them apart, their mother would put a blue bow on one and a pink bow on the other. Then their brother would switch bows. Their teachers couldn't tell who was sitting where, and they didn't always sit where they were assigned. So they got the same grades in school, Hill said.

In college, Hill said she sometimes went to the movies with her sister's boyfriend and Franklin with hers. They vowed they'd never tell them, but they always did. Once, even their employer was confused, not realizing they worked at the same place but in different departments.

The sisters were born in Portsmouth, Va. Hill graduated from West Virginia State College, worked in St. Louis, for a while and then returned to Portsmouth where she was a lab technician for the Portsmouth Health Department and later a high school science teacher.

In 1964 she moved to Stratford, Conn., where she taught middle and high school science. Hill retired in 1988 but continued working as a substitute teacher for eight years.

When Franklin was living in Chicago and Hill in St. Louis, their bond was so strong that they unknowingly sent the same Mother's Day card to their mother and even selected the same gift. Their personalities are the same as well, Hill said.

She moved to Jacksonville in 1999 after her son, an only child who spent 30 years in the radio and TV industry in New York, moved here. She bought a house four miles away. She continues to live on her own with her dog and cat. Her sister, who has three children, also lives alone with her dog and cat.

Hill had hip replacement surgery 11 years ago, and both use walkers and canes but otherwise are in good health. Hill drove until recently but now just drives to her mail box and back. Though the twins only see each other every few years, they correspond by email once or twice a day with Hill adding that she uses an iPad.

"I hope to live another year," she said. "I'm very happy here. I'm a great Jaguars fan. I have no idea why I have lived this long, no idea at all."

Franklin flew to Jacksonville with her daughter for the party. Instead of presents, they asked for legacy gift donations. Franklin's was for a bench at the National Arboretum and Hill a donation to her church, San Jose Episcopal, where she is the oldest member.

"I have everything I need," Hill said.

Here's more good news:

--The Florida Theatre recently had its first Career Day offering a look behind the lights for 18 students from the PACE Center for Girls. They watched a video about jobs that women have in Northeast Florida through Local 115 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

Afterward they had lunch with 12 members of the Local 115 Women's Committee with experience in stage and wardrobe work. Then they had a hands-on experience in three different stations consisting of back of house (sound, AV/projection and stage management), onstage (lighting, backstage/fly rail and spotlight) and props and wardrobe.

EverBank sponsored the event, which was a partnership between the theater, Junior Achievement and the Women's Committee.

--Bissell Pet Foundation has awarded Clay Humane $8,000 toward its free Spay It Forward program. The initiative is aimed at lowering animal intake in area shelters. Clay Humane offers free spaying and neutering for cats. For more information call (904) 276-7729 (SPAY).

--Selena Shore of Orange Park has won a $2,500 scholarship for her winning essay in Insureon's fall 2017 Small Business, Big Impact competition. Insureon is an online small business insurance agency. In her essay, Shore wrote about NYC Meatballs & Pizzeria and how its owner had fundraisers for families in need and donated supplies during Hurricane Irma. Shore is a junior at the University of South Florida, where she is majoring in biomedical science and hopes to attend its College of Pharmacy.

--Two seniors from the University of North Florida are among the 11 winners of the 2017 Barbara L. Frye Scholarship for aspiring Florida journalists. They are Alex Torres-Perez and William Weber. Funds for the scholarships, which range from $1,000 to $2,000 each, are raised by the Capitol Press Club of Florida from its annual press skits.

Have good news? You can fax it to (904) 359-4478 or mail to The Florida Times-Union, P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231.

[email protected], (904) 359-4128

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