Identical twins Edith Strickland and Edna Porterfield were honored by their family and friends on Saturday, October 25, in celebration of their 90th birthday. Affectionately known as ”the Twins,” they were born in Hillsborough in 1935 and were numbers eight and nine in a family of ten children. Their family moved to Burlington in 1944, and they have both resided in the Burlington-Graham area since that time.
In their early years, Edith and Edna attended Fisher Street and Maple Avenue Elementary Schools, then Broad Street and lastly Williams High School. Although they were not able to graduate with their class at that time, they later went back to school together and received their GEDs at age 50.
Their first jobs were at the old Roses Department Store in downtown Burlington working in the toy and candy departments. They have been members of the First Wesleyan Church in Burlington since they were 18 years old, serving in the choir, Best Years Fellowship, local Board of Administration, missions support, as teachers, nursery workers and in whatever capacity they were needed. They have both been faithful prayer warriors all of their adult life.
These two ladies have always been the closest of sisters and best friends, and it is rare to see one of them without the other close by. They are experts at “twinning” and often show up unintentionally wearing the same outfits. Edith and Edna especially enjoy sending cards out to everyone for every occasion, and the rest of us get a kick out of frequently receiving the same card from each of them. Countless people have been blessed through the years by their cards filled with personal notes of inspiration and encouragement.
Guests attending their birthday celebration showered both of them with cards containing personal sentiments for them to read and treasure.
