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Lakeside Resort sees very unique reunion
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Attending this years reunion held at Lakeside Resort, front row from left, were Ailie Snyder, Glory Petty, Ella Sterken and Avra Neuringer. Back row from left are Raeni Riddlesperger and Lexie Snyder. - photo by Photo by: Reed Vanderpool
Five girls adopted from an orphanage in China on the same day by five different families had a reunion at Lakeside Resort last week.The parents of the five young ladies, adopted from the same room of an orphanage in Yang Dong, China on Nov. 3, 2005, reunite the girls every year so they can maintain contact.The five girls, Raeni Riddlesperger of Leeds, Ala, Glory Petty of Franklin, Ella Sterken of Hudsonville, Mich, Avra Neuringer of Duluth, Ga. and Ailie Snyder of Milwaukee, Wisc, all seven years old and born in China within two months of each other, along with Ailie’s sister Lexie Snyder, 10, who was adopted from the Anhui Province in China in 2003, enjoyed the weekend reunion along with their parents.Jamie Petty, mother of Glory, said that the reunions were intended to allow the girls to keep a connection with each other.“They have a feeling of sisterhood, Petty said. “We want to foster that and make sure it continues.”Ella’s father Rich Sterken said that the families have also grown to feel a connection.“I think the families have a bond as well,” Sterken told the Review. “We did this at the same time and were brought together for a reason.”Three other girls of the same age who were also adopted on the same day, Emily Friebel of Las Vegas, Nev., Brenna Morgan of Klamata Falls, Ore. and Mia Adkinson were unable to make the trip for this year’s reunion.