The year was 1929. That fall, the stock market crash set off The Great Depression. Also that fall, the mothers of two cousins-to-be found out they had identical due dates: April 6, 1930.

And so began The Great Competition.

I’ve never thought of my mom as a competitive sort. Well, all except when it came to her poetry.

The Great Competition involved Grandma Cassidy and her sister-in-law Ethel Cassidy Hungerford. Both babies would be the first born to each couple.

Was it simply a friendly competition? I never got to meet great-aunt Ethel, but I sure knew Grandma; I’ll just bet it was taken seriously.

Seriously enough that Dad heard about it as an adult.

“Richard was a great guy,” he remembers.

The babies were both born on April 6, 1930.

Unlike Mom, Richard moved around as a child and grew up in multiple states. From New Haven, his family moved to New Jersey and then West Hartford, Connecticut. Following Trinity College, Richard went to dentistry school in Baltimore, married his high school sweetheart, and joined the Air Force. He served in Vietnam as an oral surgeon and eventually went on to teach at Creighton University in Omaha.

Of course, there is no competition in lives well lived.

Both Mom and her cousin lived long lives, enjoyed happy marriages, and loved their abundance of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I’d say we can call that one a draw.

But who was born first?

Happy 90th birthday to the April 6 Cousins, now both in heaven. Your families miss you dearly!

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