“It’s fun to see a pair of grown up identical twins, and at first glance Peggy Manchester and Polly Ireton of Langley look exactly alike. Both ladies have blue eyes and thick silver-white hair. But the sisters say that folks can’t tell them apart if they’re not really looking. At a closer glance one will see differences in the shape of their faces, their eyes, the placement of their mouths. When they volunteered at Whidbey General Hospital together folks would scratch their heads if they ran into Polly first and then Peggy a few minutes later. People would say, I just saw you on the elevator, Peggy said. Peggy, who was honored by the hospital guild on TDec. 19 for her 30 years of volunteering at Whidbey General, came to Langley with her husband Don Manchester in 1964. He was the only dentist on South Whidbey and also served as Langley’s mayor. He was the one who said I should volunteer at the hospital, Peggy said. Polly added, They were here before there was a hospital. The ferry stopped at midnight. People who were sick had to prove they were desperate for the ferry to come after that. Whidbey General opened in 1970 on the twins’ birthday, March 10. Both twins were volunteers since the beginning.I directed traffic and washed test tubes until I learned that you could get germs from them and then I stopped, Polly said. Peggy was the better office worker. For 15 years Peggy directed the hospital volunteers, retiring from that post late last year. She also chaired the Reach for Recovery program, a group of volunteers who offer support to women with breast cancer, providing encouragement as well as education on coping with the cancer’s treatment. The sisters originally came from Spokane. They dressed alike until they went to college at the University of Washington in Spokane. Then we had twice as many clothes to wear, Peggy joked. They both majored in forestry, but weren’t allowed to go on the field trips with the male students because there were no chaperones available. Meanwhile each sister met and married men by the name of Don.Polly’s husband was Don Ireton, who had logging interests in the Philippines, Hong Kong, British North Borneo and the Solomon Islands. The sisters lived apart for 30 or 40 years. Eventually, Peggy was asked to find a spot for Polly and Don to settle down in Langley. Reunited again, the sisters entered baked goods, flowers and homemade wine at the Island County Fair each summer. Whoever won the most blue ribbons took the other couple to a new place in Washington, Polly said. Their husbands passed away about 10 years ago and the sisters moved to the Wheel Estates manufactured home park outside Langley, where they both gardened extensively. They attend St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, have been involved in the Republican Women’s Club and trade off cooking. You don’t have to think about what to cook every night that way, Polly said. Peggy has a son who is a CPA in Bellevue with children in college. Polly worked for the Island County Sheriff for a time (We were beholden not to speak!) and at the Holmes Harbor Holly Farm. She also catalogued art collections in Port Townsend. Nowadays, while they are not as busy as before, the sisters still are lively, gracious and enjoy each others company. They will be moving to Oak Harbor early next year, still together. “