Twins Lela Hall Cope, Lillie Hall Ammons celebrate 80th birthday

By Rose Hooper

When they were little girls, twins Lillie, left, and Lela Hall used oblong rocks for baby dolls and moss for the babies' bedding. But now the 80-year-olds enjoy an extensive collection and wide range of dolls, mainly given as gifts by family members. -Herald photo by Rose Hooper

If it rained, they stayed inside their small country home and cuddled their long, oblong rock"babies" with beds of moss. Their hard-working, God-fearing parents, Lawrence and Annie Bryson Hall, couldn't afford luxuries like store-bought dolls and cribs. So the girls made their toys out of what they could find, like using rocks for baby dolls.

On Sundays, their"mommy" dressed the twins, born just an hour apart, exactly alike. As fraternal twins, they think and act alike more than they look alike.

Woe to any child who picked a fight with one of them because the other was sure to come to her defense. Then you'd have to fight the both of them.

Born just an hour apart, Lela (left), the oldest, and Lillie Hall are fraternal twins. Their parents, Lawrence and Annie Bryson Hall had two sets of twins; their older sister Lucy had twins; and Lucy's daughter Ellen also had twins.

"We thought at least one, maybe both of us might have twins since Mommy had two sets of twins, our older sister, Lucy, had twins, and Lucy's daughter Ellen also had twins," said Lillie, who had 10 children, but none were twins. None of Lela's six children were twins, either. In 1959, Lela married Ed Cope.

Even though they lived far apart, Lela and Lillie still kept in close contact.

"We didn't have any phone so we couldn't call each other, and we didn't make no money so we didn't have much way of going, but we wrote each other and kept up," Lela said.

In later years they both ended up in the same Jackson County community - Parris Branch. Now that they are both widows at age 80, once again the twins live together.

They quilt, plant and maintain a garden, tend to 25 chickens, work crossword puzzles, watch a little television ("Perry Mason" and"Murder, She Wrote") and play dolls. Only now instead of rocks, the twins have real store-bought dolls, some porcelain, with realistic curly locks and expensive, ruffled satin dresses.

"I think the reason I have such a collection now is because I never had any when I was little," said Lela, making up for lost time.

Lela attributes her good health to a lifetime of hard work. Until her recent heart attack, Lillie, too, remained quite active. As youngsters the two"hired out to work in the cornfields and tobacco fields. We'd work all day for $1. Mommy had so many young'uns to tend to, 12 in all - six boys, six girls - she couldn't work outside the home, and Daddy was a logger, didn't make much, so we did what we could to help out at home. Our earnings went to buy clothes and shoes."

But not their children, they are quick to point out.

"We both have good kids; we raised them right," said Lela, who has five living children: James Edward McGaha and Earl McGaha, who both live in Idaho, William McGaha from Belmont, Tommy Cope,"a truck driver always on the road," and Arlene Ferguson of Sylva.

Lillie's children are Shirley Acree and Ray Ammons of Idaho, Linda Ammons of Mississippi, Hubert Ammons of Hendersonville, Dorothy Bacon of Haywood County and David Ammons, Bob Ammons and Betty Moffitt, all of Sylva.

For the twin's 80th birthday on April 11, a full house showed up at their Parris Branch residence. That day, looking around at their family and friends the twins agreed they had"lived quite a good life." Neither could think of a thing they would change.

"You just keep on going till the Lord calls you home. If you sit down and give up, seems like you die fast. So we keep busy and keep on going," the twins agreed.

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