When Julie Met Janet: 2 Mission Viejo Women Become Fast Friends

MISSION VIEJO, CA — A Mission Viejo-based Facebook group got a positive lift Friday from two unlikely friends. Julie Ginter, 61, and Janet Hertzler, 90, are both residents and belong to the Mission Viejo Connection group on social media.

They shared about meeting in person for the first time, Friday, and got the whole town talking. Over 1,400 likes and 242 comments later, they are still making people's day.

The pair paused to chat with Patch about their newfound friendship.

"We have talked with each other for quite a while over social media," Ginter told Patch Friday. "We talked about vaccinations and how Janet is 90-years-old and healthy and didn't want to be vaccinated. I'm 62 and healthy and not getting it either."

Both know that a reluctance to be vaccinated isn't a popular decision these days amid the coronavirus pandemic. Still, it was the common thread that got these two women talking.

Both have Austrian heritage and enjoy keeping up with Mission Viejo through the local Facebook group.

Soon, it became evident that the pair would be fast friends.

"Janet has a big family, and they're planning her birthday party," Ginter said. "She sends me links to Austrian music, which I totally recognize from my father."

They met at Skimmer's for lunch on the outdoor patio and greeted each other like old friends, Ginter says. They talked about life, the universe, and everything, plus Janet's birthday coming up in June.

"She has a lot of grandchildren and family and is so youthful, hip and sharp and a true inspiration," she said. "Janet has a great personality."

Ginter is a retired hairstylist for over 40 years who still loves talking with people. She moved to Mission Viejo 8 years ago. Janet moved to Mission Viejo 10 years ago to be near her family.

"Everything we talked about there was a connection," Ginter says. As it turns out, many Mission Viejo residents saw the unlikely pair having lunch and commented on their "meet-cute."

Hope to see them again. Her daughter is putting.

“She was there dressed sharp, going for a pedicure next door - talked for two hours - Met at Skinner’s

A man from the barbershop next door saw us having lunch together and asked if we were the two ladies he saw eating on the patio, Ginter says. Another worker at CVS made the same mention, showing what a small town Mission Viejo really is.

At the end of the lunch, the pair got Thrifty ice cream, a birthday cake flavored in honor of Janet's upcoming birthday.

"We each went our own way," Ginter says. "I just felt full of love and all warm, just like I'd seen a close friend."

Janet is an "independent woman," Ginter says. "She drives, does everything.

Fellow residents chimed in with their support, saying how they felt inspired by the duo.

"Love this," Shelly Schwartz writes. "You made a new friend during COVID, lucy you & your new friend!"

Denise Matson agreed, commenting: "This is what social media is all about. Great job, ladies!"

The pair are enjoying their local celebrity, chatting with more new friends over Facebook, showing that social media can be just that—social.

Do you have a story to tell in Mission Viejo? Let us know in the comments or by emailing your local Patch Editor: ashley.ludwig@patch.com