NLCSD and Twins

As I have pointed out before, the old Journals before the ‘70s were full of local news. They had columns titled things like “Condition of the Ill” and “Family Dinners.” These papers were an update of community news and are so much fun to read. These newspapers tied the community together in a unique way. Today, it would be considered too “nosy” or too intrusive to report on such topics, I suppose.

So the latest column I wanted to tell you about was titled, “Twins in New London High School in Last 46 Years.” It appeared in the February 23, 1950 edition. I thought it was worth sharing.

It was written by Mrs. John Cook, who I did not know. The first set of twins she recalled were Earl and Everett Shipley. They graduated in 1908. Earl Shipley died in 1950 in Detroit. Mrs. Cook sums them up hinting they were pretty ornery, especially to their mother and their teachers.

Next up were Leslie and Walter Wilson. They graduated in 1917. Their parents were Mr. and Mrs. Jim Wilson. Walter became a salesman for a plumbing concern and Leslie was an office manager. Both men moved from New London.

Maude and May Copelin were 1921 graduates. Their parents were Mr. and Mrs. Ed Copelin. Maude married Sumner Blanck and May was Mrs. Jay Patterson of West Burlington.

The year 1923 had two sets of twins graduate. They were Herbert and Halvor Scott and Margaret and Mary Condon. Herbert was a dentist in Iowa City. Halvor was a traveling salesman out of Iowa City working for an ice cream concern.

Mrs. Mary Condon Arnold lived in Ames, the wife of Floyd Arnold. Mrs. Margaret Condon Clark died in 1937. The “Condon twins” were noted for their sweet singing in solo and duet roles.

The Sater twins are next. They graduated in 1935 and were good friends with another 1935 graduate, Bill McKinnon … my dad. Wilbur was a farmer near New London and William owned a blacksmith and machine shop at Mt. Pleasant. According to the author, Wilbur and William were impossible to tell apart.

In 1945, Lulah and Lyal Colton graduated. They were the twins of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Colton. Lulah was later Mrs. Verne Kopp of Fairmont, Minnesota. Lyal was a senior at Iowa Wesleyan.

Jean and Janet Edwards were the twin daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Edwards. They graduated in 1949. They both worked at the office of Chittenden and Eastman Co. in Burlington. Janet married Terry Kilbourn and they had three daughters: Sara, Susie, and Ann. They later divorced.

There were four sets of twins in the first three grades. Larry and Gary, 6, were the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Joy, Jr. They were first graders. Kenneth and Judy, 7, were the children of Mr. and Mrs. Van Hoffman and they were first graders at this time. In the second grade were Sherry and Gary, 7. They were the children of Mr. and Mrs. Dale Bohlen. Joan and Judy, 9, were the twin daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Miller and were in third grade at this time.

Barbara and Peggy Shipley, twin daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Shipley, were five in July. Both entered Kindergarten in the fall of 1950. They graduated from NLHS in 1963. Peggy lives in Danville and Barbara lives in Texas.

Now for fun, let’s see how many twins we can think of since the Shipley twins. If you think of any names, leave a message on my phone at 319-217-0294 or email me at andersgi@hotmail.com. I’ll let you know names next week.