A pair of twins in Conway County are just days away from being a century old.
Wednesday marks the 100th birthday of James and George Morrow, who were born on Tucker Mountain just outside of the unincorporated community of Solgohachia in 1919, James’ son, Kevin Morrow, said.
The pair, along with about 250 family and community members, celebrated their centennial at a birthday dinner over the weekend at Lonoke Missionary Baptist Church, said James Morrow’s wife, Betty Morrow.
The two men have a total of six children, nine grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren, according to family members.
“It was a lot different than what it is now,” James Morrow said in an interview Monday morning, describing his life growing up. The man said he lives about a mile and a half from where he grew up, raising corn and walking around town.
His brother’s son-in-law, Duane Austin, said George Morrow still lives on part of the homestead where he grew up.
“It’s been great,” he said of his father-in-law’s upcoming birthday, calling it a “miracle.” “We’ve been down a lot of roads together.”
James Morrow said he and his brother “get along pretty well," though his wife, 93, said the two occasionally argue about politics and religion.
“Oh, they squabble still,” she said. “They kind of have their disagreements, and yet they don’t get mad at one another.”
The pair's father died when they were 12, leaving them to farm in order to support their mother and three sisters. One of their surviving sisters is 98 years old. The other is now 105.
Both brothers later left Arkansas, pursuing work as machinists during World War II, but eventually returned with their families to the state and remained there ever since.
The twins’ families plan to hold another, smaller celebration on Saturday. Betty Morrow said she hadn’t decided whether she wants to hold another party on their actual birthday.
“I’m 93 and we’ve been married 74 years [since] May 20, 1945,” she said. “I’m kind of played out right now.”
James and Betty Morrow first met on a blind date in Oklahoma. She said while the two don’t travel as much as they used to they’ve “still got our minds and our health and that’s worth a million.”
George Morrow’s wife died about a year ago, the man’s nephew said.
The two brothers still drive, though they each walk with a cane. James and George will sometimes drive their vehicles the roughly 10 miles to Morrilton, and still take themselves to church and the store, Kevin Morrow said.
Kevin Morrow said that, though he is grateful that his father taught him to be self-sufficient, he does regret not taking more time to be with his father when it was easier for the man get out and be active. He tries to make up for that now, spending as much time with his father and mother as possible.
“I don’t know how much longer the good Lord’s going to give him,” he said. “But I’m going to try to make the most of what we can.”