A Town for Twins

Antoinette and Josephine Wollenschlaeger sit under a large tent in Twinsburg, Ohio (pop. 17,006), anxiously awaiting the results to the Oldest Set of Twins Contest during the town's annual Twins Days Festival. At 86, the twin sisters, who call themselves "the babes from Buffalo" (N.Y.), settle for second place to a pair of 93-year-olds. Still, the Wollenschlaegers are all smiles as they look around town.

"You feel like a freak all your life because everybody looks at you, and then you see all these twins, and it's like a dream," Antoinette says.

The annual festival is a dream come true for 3,000 sets of twins and multiples from around the world who come to Twinsburg each August to celebrate their unique sibling bonds. In fact, the town was named in 1819 in honor of identical twins Moses and Aaron Wilcox, early settlers who donated money and land for a local school and town square. Even today, it's estimated that at least one member of 80 sets of twins reside in Twinsburg.

The festival began in 1976 as a simple, small-town celebration of America's bicentennial and blossomed into the world's largest gathering of twins, as touted by the Guinness Book of Records in 1987. But nobody in town dreamed that the inaugural festival, which attracted 37 sets of twins, would grow into a three-day annual event that draws 60,000 attendees. "If you live in Twinsburg, this is what you are about," says Andy Miller, 68, the festival's director.

About 500 volunteers make the festival possible. Many are members of church and school groups, which use the event to raise funds. Others, like Miller, are simply passionate about the celebration of twins. Miller and his wife have a son-and-daughter set of twins who are both on the Twins Days Committee. In addition, their daughter-in-law is a twin, and Miller's cousin is a twin as well.

Twins Verna and Viola Mueller, 72, of Lancaster, Pa., are 12-year veterans of the festival. "It's different here," Viola says of Twinsburg. "There are not as many stares. It's not like being the only one."

The Double-Take Parade takes place Saturday morning, featuring marching twins and multiples, floats, bands, clowns, bagpipes, cheerleaders, and antique cars and fire engines. Chairs line the parade route long before the first marcher hits the pavement.

When the parade ends, the festival continues at Glen Chamberlain Park, complete with carnival rides, a food court, arts & crafts, live music and booths selling items bearing clever twin sayings and logos.

Twins Katie and Barbara Marschik, 12, of Greensburg, Pa., perform a tap dance routine together during the festival's talent show. They've been coming to Twinsburg since the year they were born. "The best is seeing how everybody dresses and how similar people are," Katie says, dressed in a black-and-silver dance costume like her sister's.

Most attendees come for the festivities, the entertainment and, of course, to see the numerous look-alikes in their identical clothes. Twinsburg resident Bob Burke, who enjoys the annual event with family and friends, says, "We actually feel odd because we are not twins."

What's amazing is that Twinsburg residents don't seem to mind that the festival turns their town upside down for a weekend. Larry and Sharon Hurd have lived in town for 40 years, including 15 years along the parade route. "It's like a family reunion for us every year," says Larry, sitting in his front yard. "I drive a truck all over the country, and everywhere I go, people have heard about this festival."

Visit www.twinsdays.org or call (330) 425-3652 for more information.

Lori Murray is a freelance writer in Columbus, Ohio.

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