Happy Birthday
Parties of yesteryear, 1979 to 1992, Columbia, South Carolina.
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August is my birthday month (shout out to all us kids who never got celebrated in school!), and I’m still recovering from the busyness of my summer schedule. So this month I’ve got one more photo essay; this time, it’s documentation of celebrations of birthdays past.
The time of my life for my own birthday parties may be over, but I’m happy to pass the torch to my daughter, who shares August with me, but thankfully not my astrological sign, whatever that means for our relationship dynamics (I’m a Leo, she’s a Virgo). She’s having a small party at the Cat Cafe this year, which still takes plenty of party-planning energy. So that’s good enough for me.
I’ve collected pictures of my early birthdays, and while this is by no means a comprehensive representation (I distinctly remember multiple McDonald’s parties, at least one Putt-Putt one, and definitely Showbiz Pizza), I hope that these remind you of some of the fun times of your own parties; let me know if you find yourself in any of the pictures!
We start at one day old, and my television debut!
It was the Baptist Hospital in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, August 1979. Yes, this is a picture of a TV (taken by my uncle) and yes, that is my mom holding me, yawning, in the hospital.
My mom and I were featured on the local news in a segment where Baptist was showcasing the precautionary measures they take to ensure that newborns go to their biological mothers. I guess that there had been a recent incident in another hospital where two babies had briefly been switched, and I just happened to be a newborn on the day they decided to show that this kind of thing wouldn’t happen at Baptist.
When I was a kid, I used to say that I was destined for fame because of this moment in the spotlight. So, happy birthday to me, and thank you to Baptist Hospital for making sure I was given to the right mother (though there was never any doubt about that)!
1980, My First Birthday! This was at the home of my Great-Aunt Margaret, Great-Uncle Charles (her brother, not her husband, as us cousins assumed for many years), and Great-Grandmother MeMe. Here I am with my maternal grandfather, Dunk, and paternal grandmother, Grandmother.
And here’s the rest of my family at that time (photo by my Uncle John): my dad, Aunt Mary Dozier and cousin Ryan (five months older), Dunk, my mom, Grandmother (who is only 67 here!), and MeMe, who lived to be in her nineties.
I just love this picture so much.
1981, my second birthday, at our old house on Duncan Street. My mom, leaning over, is pregnant with my brother. On the right are my older cousins, Angela and Vesta, and the lady on the left is Margie Peeples, from our church, who brought her grandson, Reed.
1983 or ‘84, maybe? McDonald’s used to have birthday parties. McDonald’s used to be classy. The cakes were actually good. Ronald wasn’t there, but that was fine with me. They had an employee as some sort of party monitor, and every kid got a Happy Meal and toys.
I’m not in this picture, but look at all those kiddies in their finest little outfits, chomping down at McDonald’s. On the left is my friend Martha, who’ll show up a few more times….
1986, 7th birthday, Red Wing Rollerway. I wrote all about this one here!
(That’s my second Cabbage Patch Kid doll. My first, Ronda Faithe, was a gift from Grandmother at one of those previous McDonald’s parties).
1987 or ‘88, at my Great-Aunt and Uncle’s house again. Baskin Robbins ice cream cake and Clown cones (those were the BEST)! I had mullet hair (“bangs on the sides”) and birthday decorations were courtesy of The Wuzzles.
1989, turning TEN! This one was at the bowling alley, where I asked my mom to get “trick candles” and they worked so well that we had to pour ice on them to get them to go out. (They were cleverly set up like bowling pins on the cake).
This was one of my favorite cakes, from The Pastry Place, my mom’s and my favorite bakery. And there’s Martha again on the right, dramatically surprised (sticker added by me later).
1991. Birthday number twelve, Knight Pool, Fort Jackson. We had the whole pool to ourselves, including these super cool giant floats.
The most significant thing about this party is that the gift from Katie (on my right) was a journal, with a lavender fabric cover and little flowers on it. I started writing in it that day, and kept going. I’ve fallen off recently, but over the past thirty years, I’ve amassed thirty-five journals. Thank you, Katie!
Last one, 1992…one of my last birthday parties, the big one-three. A teenager! Same place, same friends, plus a few more.
I’m lucky that many of these people are still my friends. And I have no doubt that spending time with any of them would bring lots of laughs and tears and conversation about how far we’ve come, more than thirty years later.
That’s all for now! If you need me, I’ll be at the Cat Cafe with a newly-minted eight-year-old and many of her sweet friends.
Reflection Questions:
What was your favorite childhood birthday party and why?
What is a birthday gift that had a big impact on you, now or then?
Richland County, South Carolina is on the land of the Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East) and Congaree nations.