1963 Birthday Party

     The little girls were visiting on the Sunday before Valentine's Day and we decided to create some cards for parents and teachers. While searching through my box of stamps and stencils, I came across this photo (no idea why it was in that particular box!). The girls were delighted to be able to identify the first girl on the left as yours truly but the others were understandably a mystery. Two are my younger sisters and the rest are fragments from several other neighborhood families. (I say fragments because there were no less than five children in every house on our street). We were gathered next door for Susie's birthday party - she is the littlest girl in the photo.  Ordinarily in the summertime we were a scrappy bunch, happy in bare feet, shorts and t-shirts but for this occassion we were scrubbed and shining, replete with our Sunday best - dresses, white ankle socks and patent leather shoes. Although I have vague memories of sunshine, new-mown grass, balloons, and cake, I do remember that the day seemed much less ordinary because we dressed up to spend the afternoon with our everyday buddies. The photograph is truly a window into another era.