Some Schuylkill County residents have a special reason to celebrate February’s extra day.
Twins Dottie and Bob Thomas were born Feb. 29, 1944. They are 72 years old, but only 18 in leap years.
“We were two hours apart,” Dottie Thomas said.
Bob Thomas said he decided to be polite and let his sister be born first.
The siblings grew up in Pottsville and graduated from Pottsville Area High School in 1962. Bob was living in Florida, but he came back in October because he missed his family. He now lives in Lehigh County.
“This is the first he’s been home (to stay) since 2004,” Dottie, who lives in Pottsville, said.
They call each other on their birthday, which they celebrate Feb. 28 when it is not a leap year. While in the area, Bob took Dottie to Coney Island for hot dogs to celebrate.
Bob said he will likely listen to Frank Sinatra and have Crown Royal for his birthday, something his leap year age does not permit. Dottie said she does not have any grand plans.
Dottie said she has fun with her “young” age. She joked that people comment on her age at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Both plan on getting an early start on their birthday.
“I’ll be up at 5:30 a.m.,” Bob said.
Bob said 18 was the age they were looking to reach, but they would like to say they reached at least 21.
Meanwhile, a New Philadelphia boy is celebrating his third leap year birthday.
Damian Thorne, 12, attends sixth grade at the Saint Clair Area Elementary School. His father, Mark Thorne, describes Damian as a pretty laid-back child. He likes sports, specifically basketball, and collects Yu-Gi-Oh cards,
Mark and his wife, Dorothy, planned to take Damian to Chucky Cheese in Allentown. For his birthday, Damian said he wants to see the movie “Deadpool” and would like a racing game for his Xbox 360.
When not a leap year, Damian celebrates his birthday on Feb. 28. He said it’s cool that he was born on Feb. 29.
“There’s not too many leap year babies out there,” Mark Thorne said.
According to www.history.com, the Roman dictator Julius Caesar is considered the “father” of leap year. The ancient Roman calendar system was based on a total of 355 days in a year. It is 10 1/4 days shorter than a solar year, which is the length of time it takes the Earth to make one complete orbit around the sun. To keep the calendar system in line with the seasons, Roman officials were supposed to insert an extra month every so often, but by the time Caesar began to rule Rome, the calendar had gotten out of whack. Caesar consulted with top astronomers and in 46 B.C., he decided to add one day every four years to make up the discrepancy between the lunar and solar calendars.