Chester Chatter: Farewell to my Irish twin

By Ruthie Douglas
© 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC

My sister Marie died on Saturday, Dec. 15 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., She and I were called “Irish twins.” She was born Jan. 19, 1940 and I was born the very last day of Dec. 31, of 1940. For a short time every year, we would be the same age.

My mother dressed us alike and most thought we really were twins. We hung together, played together and, every night, we slept together in the big old bed upstairs. Marie was my big sister and she protected me.

As we grew older, Marie was the quiet one and I was the noisy one. Our choice of friends was different. Our hobbies were different. Our preference in clothes was different. But what remained the same is that we always stuck together. Marie became a nurse and worked at the Air Force Base in Anchorage Alaska, where she met her husband, Chuck Angel, a doctor.

Marie was in the Alaska earthquake of 1964 and, when they transferred to Florida, she was a nurse during Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

We always held a bond even though miles separated us. Farewell Marie.

On our radar

The boys and girls will soon be back at their very own Chester-Andover Elementary School, right after Christmas vacation. Won’t that be just great?

Congratulations to Owen Massey and David Charlton, members of Boy Scout Troop 206 who recently became Eagle Scouts.

These past days have been busy for everyone. Please remember me when everything settles down and share your news with me.

Have a great Holiday Season.

Card shower for Phoebe Barnes

The family of Phoebe Barnes is celebrating her 90th birthday Jan. 10th with a card shower. Phoebe has been a resident of Chester for more than 60 years since she moved here with her late husband, Albert Barnes.

Phoebe worked in Chester and together with her husband raised their six children — Lewis, Tim, Kathy, Kevin, Richard and Julie — in Chester. Please help us wish her the happiest of birthdays with a card.

Cards can be sent to:
Phoebe Barnes
354 Depot St.
Chester, Vt. 05143

• This week’s trivia question:  Where was Tom Henning’s pizza parlor?
  
• Answer to last week’s trivia question: Gibby Carey began his career as chief of the Chester Police Department in the mid-1970s.
  

Street Talk

What do you like about winter?