WATCH ABOVE: Saturday in Calmar, a birthday bash was held for two very special ladies, on a very special day. Eric Szeto reports.
EDMONTON — They’ve been through a lot together, as is the case with many siblings, and on Saturday a couple of Alberta sisters celebrated their birthdays together. But what makes Esther Lauridsen and Ruth Eklund’s situation a bit more unique is the fact that they’re twins and they’re turning 100 years old.
“It makes us a day older and deeper in debt,” Eklund said with a laugh when asked how she feels about turning 100.
“It’s a lot of fun to come out here to the old hall once in a while like this,” added Lauridsen. “I think this is going to be a good day.”
Still in good health and incredibly great spirits, the Calmar sisters reminisced about the days growing up on the farm. They’ve been through a lot in the past century.
“There were no cars. It was the horse and buggy days, I would say. You would have to have a horse to travel,” said Lauridsen.
They say growing up with 10 brothers wasn’t exactly easy, but they always had each other.
“We’re tough. If we weren’t tough we would never had made it,” Lauridsen said.
The pair has grown incredibly close over the past century, creating a special bond they say is only known by twin sisters.
“What I knew, she knew; and what she knew, I knew. And we didn’t tell on one another,” Eklund said, followed by a hearty laugh from both women.
Together the sisters have 10 children, 30 grandchildren and too many great grandchildren to count. Family and friends came together Saturday at the Glen Park Hall to celebrate alongside the sisters.
“Everybody we phoned was just thrilled to come and celebrate their 100th birthday with them,” said Eklund’s daughter Faye Kraus. “It’s very, very special and they’re two very special ladies.”
“It’s a momentous occasion,” added Lauridsen’s daughter Donna Evans. “Just to have them here and have them in good health, we’re very, very privileged.”
While the sisters don’t live in the same town anymore – one lives in Edmonton and the other in Leduc – they are never far from each other’s thoughts. And as for what’s to come after turning 100, they both plan to spend time with their families and keep living life to the fullest.
“I’m going to start living now. I’m just starting to live after all these years,” said Lauridsen.
The women’s families believe they may be the oldest living twins in Canada.
With files from Eric Szeto, Global News.
Comments