I would guess this was taken in 1945. It was probably my birthday party, though it could have been my brother's. I'm not sure. The front row, left to right, a neighbor girl, my cousin Carol Ann, and my brother. The 2nd row, Aunt Marita, cousin Rosemany, friend Barbara, me, and a neighbor boy. The lady in white in the back row is our maternal grandmother, who lived with us. We called her Meme. Next is a friend of our mother's, and then cousin Gloria.
Birthday parties then were not big affairs like they are now. The kids came over, we played games, opened presents, and then ate cake and ice cream. They usually lasted not much longer than 1 hour. Today there are pinatas, bouncy houses, clowns, ponies, and anything else the parents can think of and afford.......or charge.
The older we got, the fewer children we were allowed to invite. One year...I think I was about 13......almost too old for a party back then.......I invited 2 or 3 girls, and thought we would have fun baking our own cake. By then Mother and Daddy were divorced. Mother was busy because she was finishing college and working part-time. Besides that, she had a boyfriend. It's a good thing we had Meme around to help mother us. Anyway, my friends spent the whole time watching TV with my brother in the living room while I baked the cake. They did help me eat it though. Of course, TV was still fairly new, and maybe they didn't have any at their houses......I don't know. I think that was the last birthday party I had until I was grown-up. Don't feel too sorry for me......I've had plenty of birthday parties since then. They're not nearly as exciting as they used to be. They're still fun though, especially since I get to share them with the others in our family who have January birthdays, including 2 who were born the same day as me.
Did you have birthday parties when you were a kid?
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