Remembering Taunton’s Poirier Brothers and the Midget Twins Service Station

Those who grew up in Taunton during a good portion of the 20th century most likely remember a pair of brothers who were short in stature but big on hard work and running a successful business.

Twins Edward Donat Poirier and Edeas Romeo Porter were little people – known in those days as midgets – who owned an operated the aptly-named Midget Twins Service Station on Broadway (Route 138) in Taunton.

Of course, "midget" is considered politically incorrect these days, but not in the Poirier brothers' time.

Edward was known as “Fats,” and Romeo was “Toody.” The twins ran the service station together for 36 years, with Edward continuing on after his brother’s death. It was located at the site of what is now Walt's Motors.

When the Taunton Public Library shared a photo of the twins on the library’s Facebook page back on January 30, 2020, people who grew up in the city talked about how nice they were.

“I lived near the corner of Jackson Street growing up and we used to see these guys all the time, Fats and Toody. They were a riot!” wrote Diane Auclair Bush. “Well, Toody was. Fats was kind of grumpy, usually. Loved those guys!”

Many folks talked about the tools they would need to be able to offer the same full service as other gas stations, despite being little people.

“Loved when my mother stopped here for gas in the ‘50s to watch them bring out a step ladder to wash the windshield,” Charles Metzger commented.

“Mid-50s, I used to ride with my grandfather in his ‘38 Ford moving truck,” Peter Mozzone wrote. “He and the (twins) would joke, and one would jump on the running board, run up the front fender, walk back on the hood to wash the windshield! The other brother would then get a stepladder to check the oil.”

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According to FindaGrave.com, the Poirier twins were born on June 15, 1918 in Taunton to Levi Poirier, a chauffeur who was also born in Taunton, and Victoria (Paquette) Poirier, who was from Canada.

The listings on FindaGrave.com also suggest they had three other brothers: Oscar, Henry and Elmer.

The twins grew up in the Silver City and were communicants of St. Jacques Church.

Toody passed away first, on May 25, 1978 at the age of 59. Fats passed away on January 11, 1986, at the age of 67. Prior to Toody’s death, the twins had lived together at 299½ Broadway in Taunton, across the street from their service station. That site is now occupied by Prestige Auto Mart.

The two are now buried together in the same plot at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Taunton, but their legend lives on in the fond memories of those who frequented their service station. In fact, one person even wrote a song about them: