One lives in Texas and the other lives in Oklahoma.
Two women had no clue they were sisters until a few months ago, thanks to DNA testing.
Paula Parkhurst has owned and operated her own pumpkin patch for over a decade.
But she always felt something was missing.
“Over the years, I never found any trace of any blood family,” Parkhurst said.
Paula says after using Ancestry.com, she had a match for someone who could be her cousin.
“I contacted her,” Parkhurst said. “I think I might be related to you. Would you be interested in talking to me? I think I might be your first cousin.”
Paula got a response within a few hours.
“I said I am not your cousin, I’m your sister,” Jacque Reist said.
The two finally met face-to-face this summer.
“I knew the minute I saw her that we were blood-related,” Reist said. “There was no question. I didn’t need DNA to tell me.”
It wasn’t long after Paula and Jacque met that they started working together here at the pumpkin patch–even coming up with new ideas for the gift shop.
“Jars of jam, and relishes and salsas, and pumpkin soup and more quilt squares–all family recipes that I didn’t know about,” Parkhurst said.
Jacque says she drives from Texas every and now then to help out around the pumpkin patch.
“Just to work with you and to do something together is exciting,” Reist said.