Every birthday, Mother baked a chocolate layer cake for me. In my family, no one had a party or received gifts—we got a cake with candles and had our picture taken with a Kodak Brownie box camera. I never attended a birthday party as I grew up. Did anyone during those years have parties? I don’t know. I never knew anyone who had a party.These three photos are samples of me holding my cake. I actually have one for every year until I graduated from high school, but I didn’t want to bore you with all of them. You’ll get the idea from these three.
The first snapshot (upper left) shows me on my fifth birthday, and obviously, the cake was heavy, for the plate leaned precariously to the side. You notice I’ve already had my first permanent, because my hair is naturally straight as a stick. Daddy had taken a job with an oil company, and we moved twice a year for six years in a big circle on the South Plains of Texas. So, this might have been our first location during those six years.
The second snapshot (right) shows me on my eighth birthday, and I held that cake listing to the side, too. There must be something wrong with my inner balance, because I can’t hold a plate perfectly horizontally. At least I’m dressed in this photo. Notice the 1940 Ford sedan? That’s ours. We kept that car for fifteen years. You can’t beat those old Fords.
The third snapshot (left)shows me on my eleventh birthday, and thank goodness, I’m dressed properly. But there again, the plate tilts to the side. I wonder if Mother’s cakes cooked unevenly so that one side of the layer cake was heavier than the other side. Probably not—she was an excellent cook. No, it has something to do with my equilibrium.Weeks ago, my husband and I bought a scanner. We pulled down a couple of boxes filled with old snapshots and photographs, and away we went. In going through the stacks, I almost re-lived those years I was a carefree, happy child. Honestly, I never remember being unhappy.
My teacher friends gave me my first party when I turned forty. That was, undoubtedly, one of the biggest surprises of my life. I had no idea they planned a party for me. All twelve of us sat down at a table in a restaurant, and I noticed that presents filled the middle of the table. My good friends stood, and announced—“Happy birthday, Celia!” My lands, I began to cry and laugh at the same time. They surprised me so much, I became giddy.
But you know? I looked around the table, but I did not see a chocolate layer cake. How could I have a birthday without one?
Celia Yeary
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Aw, Celia, what a cute kid you were! And holding that cake so proudly, each time! My mom always made a special kind of cake for us, too. It was a jellyroll cake--you make it in a shallow pan, then make the icing and ice it, then roll it up! It was always so wonderful, because you get about 3 times the icing you'd get on a regular cake, and it was always made from scratch. I had parties--the kind where little girls wore their best dresses and their patent MaryJanes and brought the most beautiful gifts, wrapped to perfection. LOL Not every year, but sometimes. Boy, when I think of what parties are like NOW compared to then--my daughter's parties were at Frontier City, and the water park, and so on. Nothing like then. The times they are a'changin'....LOLLOL Great post. I know how you feel-- a birthday just doesn't seem the same without that special cake.
ReplyDeleteCheryl
Wonderful pics. What a nostalgic time. I had small parties just with family and maybe cousins as a child and did receive some gifts, though not a lot. I remember a favorite doll that to my regret I lost. She was a Betsy McCall doll. I enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post, Celia. I love the photos. My mother always fixed me a lemon meringue pie as that was my favorite.
ReplyDeleteWe only had famly parties when I was small. My mom was never into having a lot of small kids around, and I didn't know any better. We always had lots of relatives.
ReplyDeleteWow Beth - a Betsy McCall doll. I had one. Haven't thought about her in a long time, Really enjoyed the post
Well, you musta been a beeyootiful baybee - cos baybee, look at you now!!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Celia! What wonderful photographs! A birthday's not a birthday without a cake, especially when you're little, and you do look as if you loved your birthdays. What wonderful memories. What I'd do to be able to sift through those old photographs with you. :) Wonderful.
Jane x
Thanks, Cheryl--you're such a good buddy.Do you know I've never eaten a jelly roll cake in my life? I don't think I ever saw one. Maybe I'll make one for the next "do" where I have to take something sweet! Now, I can't wait--I bet my old 1958 Betty Crocker cookbook has a good recipe--surley the cake needs a lot of sugar and butter. Celia
ReplyDeleteHi, Beth--glad you enjoyed it. I used to play with Betsy McCall paperdolls, but I never heard of a doll. In town we have a Doll Museum in an old historic house. it's wonderful--she has dolls from all over the world and everything you can think of. I'llvisit there again and see if she has a Betsy McCall. Celia
ReplyDeleteLINDA--I got the idea of using my own old photos from you--I love your blog--Now that we have a scanner, both of us are going crazy scanning old photos. My grandsons choose what they want for their birthday, and the middle one always wants a pumpkin pie--odd for a little boy.Celia
ReplyDeleteKATHYE--that's funny that you liked family parties becasue you didn't know any better. I guess that applies to me--I certainly know any better. Now our 3 young grandsons only have immediate family BD party after dinner and in their PJs.They love it--their parents calls it "raising them with low expectations." I think it's a good idea. Celia
ReplyDeleteJANE--you sang to me! Bless your heart. Thank you.I'd love to have you sift through old photos with me. I love the things.Celia
ReplyDeleteAh, you stole my heart with those dear pictures. We recently got a scanner too, to scan our slides and that was a fun trip down Memory Lane.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't worry so much about the cake listing. I'm sure it has to do with the angle the camera was taken from. I have all kinds of weirdness happening to my pics in my newspaper career. The secret is to take a ton of pictures and then delete all the icky ones.
I love chocolate cake. Wish I had one for lunch today.
Happy Birthday, dear friend!!!
This is my birthday week, too, and even though my two children's birthdays are one week to either side of my own, not one of us has had any cake yet!
ReplyDeleteMust fix that, your pictures made me hungry!
Well I hope you had a cake of some kind.
ReplyDeleteYes, Mom's chocolate cake was the best!
Love chocolate cake, Moms was the best!
ReplyDeleteMaggie--I think with a Kodak Brownie box camera, you took one shot! Many of our snapshots Mother took for so many years are funny. But surprisingly, many are excellent for that camera and film. Of course everything's taken outside.Thanks for the wishes--Celia
ReplyDeleteJennifer, dear--you need to get busy and make those cakes--and remember to take lots of photos. Your children will adore you for it when they're your age. Making memories--that's what birthdays are for--so record everything. Celia
ReplyDeleteMiss Mae--I did have a cake--just not chocolate. But for my birthday this week--a friend bought me a chocolate cake. Good, but as you say, Mother's home-made was best. Celia
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ReplyDeleteWonderful photos, Celia! What a happy child beams out... Lovely. The memories you share of your childhood always lifts my spirits. Gives me a sense of 'home'. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHappy Chocolate Cake Day! *smile*
--Chiron
Celia- you look adorable in the three pictures. Lucky you, you got a chocolate cake. My mom couldn't bake and hardly cooked, but she sewed all our clothes and worked full time. We had a woman who came to cook for us three times a week. For my birthdays, all of them, I received a book. Dad was a professor and believed it was the best present he could give me. Good thing I loved books and hated dolls. BTW your comment above should be addressed to Mary Ricksen.
ReplyDeleteMARY-thanks for stopping by--yes, I agree everyone loves chocolate cake--my daddy was the only exception. Celis
ReplyDeleteMONA--thanks! I did catch that, deleted it, and wrote another to Mary.Too bad we don't look so adorable when we become adults--not like a child, anyway.We always had new dresses--Mother sewed all the time.Your birthday memories sound wonderful. Celia
ReplyDeleteNice job with your new scanner. Those pictures are adorable.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I'm off to find a piece of chocolate cake.
Debra--yes, we love our scanner. and I don't think you're alone easting chocolate cake today--seems we have lots of lovers of CC.
ReplyDeleteCelia
Thank you, Chiron--seems like you and I give each other a lift each week-in different ways, at times.
ReplyDeleteI did have a wonderful chocolate cake day--and I had the cake, too, at a friend's house--but hers was from a bakery--good, but...not the same. Celia
Happy (belated) birthday! (Sorry I'm behind on my mail, lol) I always want a chocolate torte cake from the local bakery these days- so I understand the love of chocolate :) As a child it was often a 'wacky cake' my mom made.
ReplyDeleteMom would invite the neighborhood kids, whether you liked them or not, no one could be excluded! lol At the time I would be irritated at some she would invite- I'm glad she taught me that now.
Maureen
Happy belated birthday, Celia! You were quite the cutie...still are as far as I can tell!
ReplyDeleteBess
What a wonderful way to make use of a scanner. And how great that you still have all those pictures! Happy birthday, Celia!
ReplyDeleteMAUREEN--I make a fantstic chocolate torte!You should be proud of your mom for not excluding anyone--good for her.thanks for the birthday greeting. Celia
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bess--I might have been cutie then, but now. Uh-uh.Just trying to grow old gracefully. Celia
ReplyDeleteLIANA--Thanks--and I know you have a birthday in August, too. We love this scanner. I'd wanted one for a long time. He's used it to catalog his family's pics, and between him and his nephew, they have created a site of the Yeary family on Picassa, or something like that.Celia
ReplyDeleteAnother beautiful entry. I love your growing up stories, and what incredible photos! I had to chuckle about being dressed properly. The only times I wore dresses were for church and weddings. I'm rarely "dressed properly," as we were taught to dress as though we expected to get something done when we were home.
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