This past July at the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s Annual Meeting the band was playing songs from the 1950s and 60s and I noticed that almost everyone at my table was singing along with every word. What a nostalgia trip for us #&mature#8 elected officials across South Carolina. Nothings brings back old times like the music we enjoyed back when we were teenagers.

This incident got me thinking of so many “old timey#” things that my husband, I and our friends remember well, but our children never even heard of.

Does anyone remember old fashioned birthday parties before they became bowling parties, amusement park parties and even more elaborate #“theme#” events? When I was a little girl in Brooklyn, N.Y., birthday parties were simple and inexpensive affairs. I think we enjoyed the fact that they were all the same.

First, everyone dressed up. The girls wore party dresses and shoes, and the boys wore suits, ties and shoes. In those days, sneakers were worn only for sports.

Each place setting at the birthday table included a small crepe paper basket with a handle and a name tag with each child#’s name. The basket was filled with candy and a lollipop. Next to it sat a paper party hat, a balloon and a paper blower. Of course, there was a birthday cake and ice cream.

The games we played never varied. Pin the Tail on the donkey was my favorite, and Mama used the same paper donkey and pins throughout my childhood. Musical chairs was another popular game with all the kids. The presents were opened, usually inexpensive toys. While the kids, supervised by the birthday child#’s mother, enjoyed the party, the mothers of the guests had coffee and cake in the living room. The whole event took about an hour, and everyone went home happy.

Today, children’s parties are more complicated and elaborate and some parents try to outdo others which, of course, sets a bad example for their children.

The clothes children wore when I was in elementary school must seem very old fashioned to today’s kids. All the girls wore dresses, with one exception. If it was very cold, the teacher allowed girls to wear pants with a dress over them. I remember feeling that I would rather freeze to death than go to school in such a ridiculous outfit.

Do you remember dating attire in the 50s and 60s? My grown children and grandchildren were shocked to learn that girls wore dresses, hose and heels on a movie date or just going out for pizza. The only piercings to be seen were for girls, and they were on ears. The tops that we wore, while stylish, definitely covered the navel area, and tattoos were for male sailors.

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