TWINS!

Edward John Fenlon, Jr. and Emmett Martin Fenlon in the late 1930s. 

In addition to posting material from me I hope to also post memories and photographs from other descendants of Emmett and Anne.  Today's post consists of recollections of Emmett by his son (my uncle) Brian Fenlon.

Since Emmett and his brother Edward were identical twins, there were, no doubt, ample opportunities for them to impersonate each other. Emmett, as the story goes, took his driver’s test before Eddie did and passed with flying colors.  About a week later, Eddie was scheduled to take his test. It was Emmett, however, who showed up at the prescribed time and place – at which point the inspector purportedly said: “Weren’t you just here a week ago?” “Oh no,” said Emmett, “That was my twin brother” and proffered Eddie’s permit and the required identification. Needless to say, “Eddie” passed the test.

When Emmett and Edward were in their early 20s and during the Depression years, they both worked for the Onondaga County Highway Department in the summer. As was the normal operating procedure, they received their wages via cash in an envelope delivered to them in person by a County representative.

Some few years later, Emmett took notice of a very pretty redhead in church on Sundays in Lowville; she was teacher at Lowville Academy and he taught at the one-room school on Pine Grove Road in Watson. Eventually, after discovering her name was Anne Treacy and her family lived in Syracuse, he offered her a ride home for Thanksgiving (or maybe Christmas). She accepted. Sometime later, after they had dated for a while, Anne invited Emmett home to meet her parents.  At which point her father said: “I know you. You’re one of those twins who worked for the Highway Department.”  Emmett, of course, recognized John Treacy as the very paymaster who had delivered his bi-weekly wages. We can only imagine the look of surprise on Anne’s face.  

After their marriage, Emmett and Anne rented a house on the Pine Grove Road north of the school house where Emmett continued to teach.  For some reason, during the 1938 school year, Emmett had to be absent from teaching for a week.  Never one to forget the advantages of having a twin brother, he asked Edward to fill in for him.  Edward apparently did quite well at this impersonation – except for one thing.  The following week when Emmett returned, all the students asked: “Mr. Fenlon, how come you forgot our names last week?”

As Anne often told her children:  On her wedding day, she laid out a clear expectation to Emmett and Edward that there was to be no switching identities nor brotherly impersonations from now on.  Therefore, we can only suspect that Anne must have been in on this particular caper at the Watson School.

One additional twin story about Emmett and Edward comes courtesy of the "Aunt Cora's Kids" column written by Mrs. Cora Marshfield in the 1 Sep 1944 issue of the Marcellus Observer.  

In the last sentence the first E. is Emmett and the second E. is Eddie. 

Brian Fenlon on his Farmall Super A tractor originally purchased by his grandfather Edward John Fenlon, Sr. for $1681 on 10 May 1949.