Few people know the inside of a grocery store better than identical twins Sharon Clay and Sharodene Morris.

Sharon is the fruit bar manager at Marsh Supermarket and is in her 29th year of service with Marsh. Sharodene works in the produce section with her sister and is in her seventh year with Marsh.

Now age 62, both have been working in grocery stores since age 7, when they did odd jobs at their father's store. At night, while their parents stocked the store and cleaned, the twins and their sister would sleep on the three cash registers in the store after a hard day's work.

Their father, H.B. "Doc" Lowery, owned Chief's Supermarket beginning in 1939. Chief's was on North Lake Street where Lakeland Art Center is now.

"We were in the store working since the time we were old enough to work," Sharodene said.

Then, in 1951, their father operated Lowery Shopping Center on Market Street. In 1955, he sold his store to Marsh Foodliners Inc. Marsh eventually moved from Market Street to its current location on Buffalo Street.

"People come in here who used to come in to Chief's Supermarket," Sharodene said.

Selling the supermarket to Marsh was a decision made with confidence, and one that Sharon and Sharodene believe was a good one.

"For me, Marsh has been part of my life for 29 years," Sharon said. "It's not just a place of work. It's my second home."

It was Sharon's hard work, dedication and love for the supermarket chain that helped her become the fruit bar manager. The then-supervisor of the Buffalo Street Marsh store, Carl Behnke, asked Sharon to take over as fruit bar manager.

"I could not believe the challenge," Sharon said. But the challenge proved to be a labor of love for her. "I love the customers and pleasing the people."

Sharodene said, "We were taught to please the people by our father so many years ago."

"(Customers) can bring a lot of smiles to my face," Sharon said.

Sharodene agreed: "Most of the customers are really, really nice.

"It's been fun because a lot of people say, 'I didn't know you were a twin,'" she said.

What's it like for them as twins?

Sharodene said, "Twins just have a bond that, unless you're a twin, you can never understand."

Not only do they finish each other's sentences, they also vacation together. They think alike and never disagree, they said.

Both also married their high school sweethearts. Sharodene married Dick Morris and Sharon married John Clay.

"It's been wonderful being twins. We never argue, we never have disagreements," Sharodene said.

Sharon said, "I have to give my mom credit. We've never had a fight or disagreement."

Marsh Manager Dan Boggs said, "I get customer compliments on these two all the time."

He said customers even specifically ask for one or both of the twins. And having twins in the store is an unique experience, he said.

"I don't ever remember having a set of twins working in the same store, in the same department, working together," Boggs said.

Both have three children each and both have eight grandchildren. Each was blessed with a set of twin grandchildren. Both enjoy being with their children and grandchildren. And they can keep up with their grandchildren as well as with the young people who work in the store. They even take some under their wings, they said.

But the twins would rather talk about Marsh than themselves.

"The Marsh family -Êyou will never find a better family to work for. They make you feel so important," Sharon said. "I really think Marsh has fulfilled a lot in my life."

On the Marsh grocery bag, the slogan reads "Marsh -ÊGonna make you smile."

"I certainly try to make people smile," Sharon said.

She said their father would be proud to see her and her sister continue to work in a grocery store just like him.

"He taught us the meat department, the produce department, I even worked as a cashier," Sharodene said.

And while the twins have many fond memories of working in their father's store, the joy they said they get from working at Marsh always comes out.

"I enjoy working here. It's a real uplift," Sharon said. "All these years and the same customers come through.

"Our produce department is one of the finest. I respect our produce manager (Shawn Morrow) for the fine job he does." [[In-content Ad]]