Their parents, Rolland F. and Golda (Kreider) Flory, moved to Clark County in 1928, when the boys were 7 years old. Since then their lives have been lived within a couple of miles of the Mad River.
Rolland Flory was principal at Enon High School, but they grew up north of the river in Bethel Twp. In 1939, they graduated from Olive Branch High School and the Flory Brothers began their careers farming together. During the 1950s and 1960s, they lived along Lower Valley Pike.
The twins were always hard to tell apart, according to Laurrell Flory’s son, John Flory. They used to work as referees, which would cause some confusion. He said they also would laugh about switching identities and playing tricks on friends, including girl friends, which I imagine did not go over so well.
As their number of acres grew, they farmed lands in Bethel and Mad River townships, north and south of the river. John Flory remembers his father Laurrell Flory telling about adjusting the milking schedule of their cows to noon and midnight so they could have a social life.
Eventually they settled down. Laurrell Flory married first to Alvina Campbell, and had six children. Merrill Flory married Joy Harsh and they had two children.
When Laurrell Flory decided to go to Wittenberg University to become a teacher, he continued farming with his brother. Merrill Flory would drive the harvester up and down the field and Laurrell Flory would wait at the end of the field in the truck, studying and delivering the full wagons to the elevator.
Eventually Laurrell Flory got his degree from Wittenberg and taught at Indian Valley Middle School in the Greenon school district for 20 years.
Both of the twins are now retired, but they still live in the country with their wives. Laurrell and Alvina Flory have six children, 11 grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Merrill and Joy Flory have two children and four grandchildren. They still own farmland in Mad River Twp., but now it is farmed by Bob McClure, who happens to also be a retired principal from the Greenon district. Small world.
John Flory asked his father and uncle recently for their advice to others and summed it up in this statement.
“They say the secret to a long, happy life is a healthy diet, doing work you like, a loving wife, humility, quickly changing bad thoughts about people to good thoughts, and following the Golden Rule – do unto others as you want them to do unto you,” he said.
Those are some words of wisdom that could make all our lives better.
We hope you have a wonderful birthday, Merrill and Laurrell.
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