‘Triplet cousins’ born within 34-hour span at Akron's St. Thomas Hospital turn 75

What are the odds?

Three sisters gave birth to three babies — two girls and a boy — within a 34-hour span at Akron’s St. Thomas Hospital in August 1948.

The “triplet cousins,” as they lovingly became known, created a commotion in the maternity ward. Their smiling mothers held them gingerly for a front-page photograph, the first of many group portraits over the years.

It’s hard to believe, but the sleeping infants in that famous picture are celebrating their 75th birthdays this weekend.

“We are blessed,” Phyllis Antonino said. “That’s for sure.”

She was supposed to be the last one born, but the stork arrived early. Delia and Frank Antonino welcomed their baby girl at 9:35 p.m. Aug. 5.

Before hospital workers could relax, the family grew overnight. Mary and Philip Campanale greeted their daughter Marie at 3:35 a.m. Aug. 6.

“Mom did say everybody was off their dates,” recalled Tallmadge resident Marie Buehler, the middle cousin.

A day later, Gloria and Richard Leonard Sr. hit the trifecta with the arrival of son Richard Jr. at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 7.

“I was supposed to be the first born and I ended up being the last born,” said Leonard, a resident of Uniontown.

So began the legend of the triplet cousins.

Forget the cigars

The three sisters were daughters of Alfredo and Antonietta Gasbarro of North Hill. A fourth sister, Lucy Flasco, joked in 1948: “I certainly wish I could have been in that hospital at the same time. They might have wanted a fourth for bridge.”

The new fathers decided not to exchange cigars. It seemed like too much effort to trade one cigar for another and another.

Dr. Thomas Scuderi, the Antonino family doctor, suggested that they contact the Beacon Journal to document the joyous occasion.

“And that’s how it all started,” Phyllis Antonino said.

Newspaper reporters returned over the years to chronicle the cousins’ birthday parties, first day of kindergarten and other special occasions. The children grew up together and formed an unbreakable bond.

“I almost feel like they’re my sisters, not my cousins,” Leonard said.

Italian family on North Hill

They belonged to a large Italian American family on North Hill. It was nothing for 50 or 60 relatives to gather at Grandma and Grandpa’s home on York Street.

“We were always getting together,” Antonino said.

Their early memories are a colorful collage of family picnics, homemade pasta, boccie games, overnight sleepovers, bottled peppers, camping trips, softball games, simmering meatballs and elbow-to-elbow meals.

The cousins still don’t know how their grandmother managed to cook for so many people. They remember smelling the heavenly aroma in her kitchen.

“She’d always say ‘Mangia! Mangia!’ ” Antonino said.

“She’d send you home with something,” Buehler said.

Antonino, the daughter of a city maintenance worker, grew up on Sawyer Avenue and Robinette Court with brothers Dennis, Pat and Ray. She attended St. Martha Elementary and graduated from North High School.

Buehler, the daughter of a service station owner, grew up on Avon Street with sisters Dolores and Phyllis Campanale. She attended St. Anthony and graduated from St. Mary High School.

Leonard, the son of a mechanic, grew up on Thayer Street with siblings Kathy, Nancy, Tom, Ron, Mary and Jerry. He attended St. Anthony and St. Martha, and graduated from North.

Cousins follow different paths

The cousins blazed their own trails in life. Antonino remembers a pivotal moment in the eighth grade when two military recruiters came to her class. One of them was a woman.

“I locked eyes onto her and I thought, ‘Oh, wow, I could do this,’ ” she said.

Relatives were surprised when she enlisted in the Army at age 21. This was a girl who got homesick on camping trips!

During basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, a drill sergeant told the new recruits: “You’re a GI now. Do you know what a GI is? You’re a government issue.”

Antonino’s eyes grew big. She wondered if enlisting had been a mistake, but she stuck it out and thrived. She served in the Army, National Guard and Army Reserves, retiring from the service after 20 years.

“It was very rewarding,” Antonino said. “Very rewarding.”

In civilian life, she worked as a technician at St. Thomas Hospital, the site of her birth, and retired from Summa Akron City Hospital in 2013. North Hill is still her home.

Marie Campanale married Michael Buehler on Sept. 20, 1969, and the couple welcomed two children: Jennifer and David. She held jobs at the M. O’Neil Co. and J.E. Carsten Co. and later worked as a caregiver.

“But I mainly wanted to stay home with the kids,” she said.

The homemaker celebrated her North Hill upbringing and instilled in her children their Italian American heritage.

“It’s been passed down to us and we tried to pass it on to our kids,” she said.

Now she’s relishing the role of active grandparent, doting on Nick, Kate, Joey and Tommy, and attending their many sporting events.

“That’s what we do,” Buehler said. “That’s our activity.”

After high school, Leonard joined the Navy, wanting to follow his father’s footsteps. Two weeks into boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Station, officers sent him home because of a childhood history of eczema, even though recruiters had known about it when they accepted him.

“So I was only in the Navy for one month,” he said. “But if I hadn’t come home when I did, I wouldn’t have met Carolyn.”

Leonard, an employee of Massey Ferguson, married O’Neil’s cosmetologist Carolyn DiGiulio, a native of North Hill, on Aug. 5, 1972. They had three children, Mike, Michelle and Matt, and are now the proud grandparents of three: Kylie, Marisa and Dominic.

In 2010, Leonard retired as a driver for the Tramonte Distributing Co.

The tight-knit families have experienced the greatest joys and the worst tragedies. Helping each other through thick and thin, they have flourished, endured and succeeded. Family and faith made them strong.

The triplet cousins have celebrated many birthdays together. When they are unable to meet, they always remember to wish each other well through cards, calls, emails or texts.

“I like that we got all our own days,” Buehler said. “That made it nice.”

Triplet cousins look back

They don’t have any big plans for their 75th milestone, but they did enjoy a reunion this week at Buehler’s home. It didn’t take much coaxing before the relatives began to reminisce.

“We used to camp at Tamsin Park,” Leonard recalled. “We had a tent, then we had a fold-out camper and then we went to a big camper.”

“In the summertime, we were always picnicking somewhere,” Antonino said. “Anytime we’d go on a picnic, Grandpa would bring his bottled peppers.”

“Remember that time, I think it was New Year’s, and you guys slept over?” Buehler asked. “All of us girls were in one bed and you [Leonard] were in the other room and you’d come in and try to scare us.”

Laughter filled the room. That’s how it’s been for 75 years. The triplet cousins will always be close.

“I think it’s cool,” Leonard said.

“It’s nice being connected that way,” Antonino said.

“It’s been a lot of fun with us,” Buehler said.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘Triplet cousins’ of Akron turn 75 years old