‘Leap Year babies’ mark milestone birthdays

PHOTO BY DREW HUGLAND
DGKN photographer

Judy Ryder, of Tuscarawas Township, is 64 years old but with the Leap Day this Saturday, she will have technically only had 16 birthdays. She holds up a newspaper clipping from The Evening Independent from March 1, 1956, showing when she and three others were born on the Leap Day that year at Massillon City Hospital.

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Betty Ralph, of Millersburg, who taught at Dalton Elementary and Central Christian School and volunteer at Berlin Eleemntary, celebrates her 80th and 20th birthdays on Feb. 29.

TUSCARAWAS TWP. Judy Ryder received a “Happy 4th birthday” card from her cheerleader friends and adviser when she attended Northwest High School in the early 1970s.
Maybe this weekend she’ll finally get a birthday card for her Sweet 16th.
The 64-year-old has taken her Leap Year birthday into stride over the years. Not until recently has she discovered both some perks and setbacks.

Read the complete story in the Feb. 26, 2020 edition.