Article taken from the Saskatoon Star Pheonix, July 2, 2009:

Sask. Sisters Celebrate along with Canada

By Laura Keil,

The StarPhoenix

July 2, 2009

When Lida Kabaroff and Alice Maloff arrived in the world 90 years ago, Canada was a very different place.

The identical twins were born on their parents' farm near Blaine Lake on July 1, 1919. The First World War had just ended, with the Treaty of Versailles signed just days before their birth.

"Everything was different," Lida said Wednesday at their birthday celebrations in Alice's daughter's backyard in Saskatoon.

Back then, July 1 was called Dominion Day, but the sisters said they didn't celebrate Dominion Day and did not do much for their birthday, either.

"July the first was just another day," Lida said. "We helped the men on the farm, bringing lunch for them."

The two women, both wearing pink roses on their jackets, spent Wednesday with friends and family. Alice now lives in Saskatoon, but Lida still lives in Blaine Lake.

They see each other often, however, and say they have never fought, despite struggles in their youth.

The sisters completed Grade 7 in school before their father died. After he was gone, they stayed home to help their mother on the farm. The Depression meant everyone had to work hard.

"We were so used to those years that we treasure every little thing," Alice said.

She says she made $10 a month for farm work as a teenager, doing jobs such as weeding and milking cows. At that time, 12 eggs cost five cents. During the Second World War, they remember getting food stamps when sugar, flour and butter were rationed.

"We wouldn't want to go back to those years," Alice said.

Their parents immigrated from Russia in 1899, Doukhobors fleeing a religious rebellion.

The sisters still own the original homestead their parents settled and they recently received a Century Family Farm Award for farming the land for 104 continuous years. They currently harvest hay.

The women married farmers. Lida had four children and Alice had two.

The sisters say life was much slower during their youth, but they were busy nonetheless.

"On the farm we didn't have much time to celebrate," Alice said.

Canada did not have an official flag or anthem when the sisters were young, so Dominion Day celebrations used the Red Ensign flag, similar to Ontario's flag today.

Dominion Day -- now Canada Day -- was created to commemorate the anniversary of the enactment of the British North America Act, which created Canada in 1867.

For their birthday this year, the sisters celebrated with a Canadian flag cake.

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