Dot and Dash - a picture history of identical twins in rural Oregon [pt 2]
The school years - Identical to the MAX!
Dot and Dash embraced their identical-ness in dress and activity to a remarkable degree. I knew a pair of identical twins growing up, Nick and Matt - they went out of their way to have different hair cuts, different activities, etc. Not Dot and Dash :)
Check out Part One: Birth through early childhood
Grandpa Heck
Grandpa Heck seems like a good guy to have in your corner as a kid. $1 for an "A" in school? That is an inflation adjusted $18 dollars in 2019 money per "A" - not a bad racket for a 10 year old! Plus he ran the general store in town and gave them candy.
One of my favorite photos in the collection is this one of Grandpa Heck as a younger man with his family. There is something a bit haunting, maybe even unsettling, about the way his wife is staring into the viewer's soul. Sitting on Mssr. Heck's lap is his daughter Elsie, the mother of the twins :)
Finally a brother
The Roberts (Junior and Senior) Shields
You may recall from part one that a male name had already been picked out for a presumptive son; the arrival of Dot and Dash merely postponed the coronation of Robert Shields the Second until 1936, when little Bobby arrived and the twins had a baby brother. But there isn't much more about Bobby to share, this is the story of Dot and Dash.
Growing up fast!
Going on 14 in 1941 when this picture was taken with their cousin Bud Devine (looking good Bud! That is a jaunty tip to your cap), the twins were about to start their freshman year of high school in Cottage Grove.
In 1943 the family moved to Springfield (where I currently live) and the twins spent the rest of their high school days at Springfield High School (about 5 blocks from the house I live in today), where they managed the school store:
They also managed to keep on looking exactly identical:
Of course World War II was happening
during this time period. Dot and Dash contributed to the war effort as "soldiers without guns", rolling bandages and even participating in a ground observation corps that looked out for enemy aircraft. That may sound far fetched at first but a lone Japanese pilot did in fact bomb Oregon in 1942!
Dot and Dash graduated high school in 1945
and that is a good place to end part 2. Stay tuned for part 3, where we will meet a dashing air force man on leave who will add a wrinkle to this heretofore twin-centric story.
Tagging @tygertyger
[//]:# (!steemitworldmap 44.053697 lat -123.015774 long Springfield High School history d3scr)
My mother's sisters are twins. They're not identical, but they looked it as children. Probaby didn't help that they were always dressed alike. As adults they are easy to tell apart, although hubby doesn't think so! Lol. He has to see them together to see the difference.
I love these old photos. Very nostalgic, but often also a little sad as you know they're no longer with us.
PS: Do you know if Reta was pronounced like Rita or like rettah?
Good question! I assumed it was like Rita but my mother-in-law Marie, Rita's daughter, confirms that Reta was pronounced like "Rettah" :)
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oooh the girls seem smitten with cousin Bud lol and please tag me for the next tone I love this <3
The first echography my mother had when I was still inside her showed that she was expecting twins... After a few months the other guy disappear, I either ate him or absorbed him! I like to say that I'm like the sharks, the stronger one survived xD Life would have been so different with a twin brother, we would have blamed each other for everything ahahah
Hey that is kinda cool kinda creepy! LOL
Creepy? Why? Never seen a cannibal baby xD
I find it intriguing that some identical twins chose to embrace their likeness and some decide to grow their individuality. But for the ones who like to be similar, I wonder if they like to do pranks with their friends about who's who. I think it's fun XD.
I could swear I put this out, but it went to the ether, I guess. Better late than never, I suppose...
Thanks for another chapter of the Dot and Dash twins. Classic stuff. As I said in last post, I love these everyday, fascinatingly simple parts of human history. They're everywhere, and go under the radar most times.
I had friends, of a GF that were identical twins, I never COULD tell them apart. Just never used their names. Seemed to work. I like that Dot and Dash dressed alike and did the same things. They must have been very tied together in all emotion and thought. It's such an interesting concept and probably very deeply ensconced and felt. Though I've never had any close friends that were twins, that I could discuss it with.
The aircraft watching part is interesting too. There is a whole chapter of WW II history involving balloon bombs sent over here to start fires. Not a really well known part of the history of the war. And had some devastating consequences for a family in Southern Oregon. But I'll stick to the positive here. Thanks for putting more of this series out for us. As we've discussed, I love this sort of thing about everyday life and it's joyous endeavors. I look forward to part three. Thanks for the heads up, I get busy and it's hard to keep up sometimes. Cheers.