Seeing Double with Twins at CUC

There were five sets of twins on the hilltop in 1955-1956—Roland and Ronald Bechthold; Caroline and Christina Campbell; Larry and Lottie Krivoshein; Evelyn and Eunice Suelzle and in the church school were Leo and Reo Ganson. Then four years later there were four more sets of twins who had one thing in common: music. The Reimche sisters sang together; the Ganson brothers played brass instruments; the Perrish sisters played the piano; and the Brown sisters, who varied the most in appearance and interests, sang together but played different instruments, one playing the piano and the other the violin.

Rose Reimche, 1961

Sue Reimche, 1961

Carol Brown, 1961

Sharon Brown, 1961

A problem more common to twins is mistaken identity. Once Walter Melashenko, high school principal, was about to discipline Reo for one of Leo’s misdemeanors—a situation which causes the fellows no concern. Both have the ability to laugh readily at a joke.

Reo Ganson, 1961

Leo Ganson, 1961

One Saturday evening Mary Perrish skated with one of the fellows for half an hour, telling him only at the end of that time that she was Mary and not Marta, as he had been believing. Not being sure which sister was which may have prompted Les Pearson and Gordon Standish to send an invitation for open house to these sisters beginning, “Les and Gordon would like to take you….”

Marta Perrish, 1963

Mary Perrish, 1963

The selection of names for twins is an interesting point. Mary and Marta Perrish have the same initials; Leo and Reo have names that rhyme, Carol and Sharon Brown’s second names rhyme—Fay and Gay. The registered names for Sue and Rose Reimche are: Sudabel and Rosabel.

Perhaps the most unique sets of twins CUC ever had were four siblings, two sets of identical twins: Randy and Ronald Teranski and their sisters Donalee and Loralee.

Shown above are the Teranski twins in 1978.  The photo below shows them in 1965.

by Edith Fitch, CUC Historian