RUNNEMEDE REMEMBERED

Growing up in a small town in Southern New Jersey


Sunday, January 4, 2009

Dinnertime in the 60s -- Another episode of Back to Runnemede


Here we are eating dinner, or rather having our picture taken after dinner. The year? 1968. Christmas. I know this because? There is a stupid santa hat hanging from the picture behind the buffet which is at the top center of the photo.

Alan is sitting on the end, looking back toward the camera. I am in the lower right of the picture. I am about four months pregnant, and since I wanted to badly to be pregnant, I started wearing maternity clothes as soon as I couldn't button my skirts. Since I was a working lady, and pant-suits weren't permitted in the work place, I had skirts that I had to fit in. And spandex was just the gleam in some inventor's eye at that time.

This must be our Christmas dinner in 1968, because it looks like all the family, sans papa is there. Also in the picture is Alberta and her husband, Harold; my brother Carl and his wife, Linda; and the guy with the sideburns on the right, back, is my brother, Mark.
You will notice all those cans on the buffet -- remember I talked about all the cookies our family received at Christmas time -- baked fresh by the ladies in the church? Well, take a look. And that was AFTER most of the children had left home, so they weren't giving dad as many cookies as they did when he had four hungry children living at home.
This picture was taken in 1970, I believe, although my sister thinks it was later than that. I think this is when I am pregnant with Becky, who was born in 1971. The guy on the back end, left-hand side, is Alan. When I first saw this picture, I thought it was Phil, my son. Of course, that wouldn't be possible because he was only 1-1/2 years old at Christmas, 1970. This may be Thanksgiving, though.

My sister, Debbie, is at the end, and she too, is pregnant, with Jennie. Now, she tells me that Becky was already born when she was pregnant with Jennie, but I'm too skinny, I think, in this picture for me to be pregnant with Cyndi. I hadn't lost much weight after Becky was born, and bam! I was pregnant with Cyndi. My brother, Carl is in the foregound, right; Aunt Annie is on the right-hand side, back side of the table.

ttfn

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