Meet the Smiths

Gardnerville resident Claude Smith's twin brother has won fame in Missouri after he became the topic of a Facebook page set up by a 13-year-old girl who was in a competition with a friend to see who could get the most hits.

Clyde Smith is the greeter at the Walmart in Sedalia, Mo. When the Facebook page went up, it received more than 1,000 hits. Clyde had no idea who put the page up until a reporter from the the Sedalia Democrat newspaper saw the page and decided to introduce them.

The feature resulted in even more exposure for Clyde and the story went viral in the Midwest, where it appeared in the Kansas City and Springfield newspapers and on television.

"He's been getting a lot of publicity," Claude said. Neither of the 77-year-old twins had ever been on Facebook before 13-year-old Mackenzie Westphal posted the Friends of Smitty the Wal-Mart Doorman page. Clyde lives in Knob Noster, Mo., and has worked for the Walmart for 10 years.

That's the length of time Claude has lived in Gardnerville.

"We get along like two peas in a pod," he said. "I can almost tell what he's thinking. We had a lot of fun in school. We would switch seats and all that jazz. One time I signed up for golf, but I had to work, so he played golf."

Clyde will be coming out to Nevada in May where the brothers bet the Kentucky Derby.

"He enjoys coming out here," Claude said. "Last time he came out he hit a pick 3 and got his trip paid for."

Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier. Reach him at khildebrand@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 215