Try a 14-day free trial today with Ancestry®
County twins celebrate 120 years of marriage
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Twin sisters Helen Lehmer and her husband Walter, of Sparta, and Hazel Cosner, and her husband, Arthur, of Newton, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversaries on Sept. 14.
They were married in double-ring ceremonies at the First Presbyterian Church of Sparta on Sept. 14, 1946, which was officiated by Rev. Frank A.P. Pehrson, assisted by Rev. Frederick P. Mudge.
The twins, born in Columbia, are the daughters of Anna and Carson LaBarre of Sparta.
They grew up in Sparta in the house that is now the Cafe Pierrot restaurant and met their husbands at Newton High School. Arthur Cosner was a fellow classmate and Walter Lehmer was three years older, Ellen Lehmer, daughter-in-law of Helen and Walter, said.
"They were very popular," she said of her mother-in-law and her sister. The twins, who always dressed alike, were the first baton twirlers at Newton High School.
Both Arthur Cosner and Walter Lehmer are veterans of World War II.
The twins and their husbands are former employees of Darlington Fabrics, which was once located on Mill Street in Newton. Walter Lehmer later went on to work for Limestone Products in Sparta and Arthur Cosner became employed by Condit Motors of Newton.
Helen Lehmer and Hazel Cosner retired when Darlington Fabrics closed.
The twins wore identical wedding gowns on their wedding day, which was followed by a reception at their home. They celebrated their 60th anniversaries in twin fashion also, wearing pant suits trimmed in a leopard print.
The anniversary party was held at the Lafayette House in Lafayette. The party was hosted by Ron and Ellen Lehmer, son and daughter-in-law of Walter and Helen Lehmer, and the Lehmers' granddaughters, Sherri and her husband Robert Yuhas, and Kristi and her husband Richard Uber.
Ron and Ellen Lehmer are the nephew and niece of Hazel and Arthur Cosner. Sherri Yuhas and Kristi Uber are the Cosners' great-nieces.
