Plymouth man raises money for headstone of tormented sisters

August 21, 2011|By Clifton French (cfrench@wsbt.com), Click here to follow Clifton on Twitter | By Clifton French (cfrench@wsbt.com), Click here to follow Clifton on Twitter

A Plymouth man is trying to right the wrongs of the past. He wants two sisters to get the respect in death they never knew in life.

It's been nearly 25 years since John Reed talked to his old neighbors – sisters Anna and Margaret Rash. He remembers them as friendly old women.

They were also well known throughout Plymouth, but for all the wrong reasons.

Reed says they were made fun of. They had rocks thrown at them, and were known mainly by their nicknames: “Heckle and Jeckle” and “The Apple Twins.”

"They were figures in Plymouth history,” Reed said. “Unfortunately, they've got no marker, and I thought it was appropriate to try to get them one.”

Ask nearly anyone in Plymouth about Heckle and Jeckle and they will more than likely tell you about the two old women who were always together and always sitting on their porch.

"They went everywhere together, you wouldn't see them apart," Lorrene VanBlaricom said.

Now, buried side-by-side in Oak Hill Cemetery, many wouldn't know Margaret or Anna Mae Rash by name. Instead, they remember those nicknames. They also remember how they were treated.

"A bunch of kids would come by and throw rocks, call them names, call them 'The Haggle Sisters,'" VanBlaricom said.

John Reed lived next door to the sisters when he was in first and second grade. He watched kids throw rocks and yell at them as they sat on their porch.

Instead of joining the other kids, he got to know the sisters. He would sit and talk with them on their porch. He remembers them as loving neighbors.

"They really were kind ladies," Reed said.

He says rumors that the woman taunted children aren't true. Reed says the ladies would yell back at kids only after they were harassed.

Only a couple of weeks ago, he began to think about the sisters. He found out where they were buried, found the small grave markers and decided they deserved more.

Turning to Facebook, he started a page to raise money for a headstone.

Now those donations are in, and the gravestone is about to be built.

"They wouldn't want a huge marker…" he said.

He is having a single headstone with both of their names constructed. On the bottom, the golden rule "Do unto others..." is etched into the stone.

"’Do unto others,’ that's what we’re putting on their stone,” Reed said. “You're treated the way you treat people. You're remembered. It's a lesson they taught."

The Rash sisters were never married and never had any children. They lived together until Margaret Rash died in 1992. She was born in 1917. Anna Mae Rash died in 2007. She was born in 1920.

Click here to see the Facebook page created by Reed.

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