The Birthday Cards

When my brother Gene and I were young and living in the Armour community, we looked forward to receiving a birthday card from our Grandmother Louise.

Even though Gene was two years older than me, we shared the same birthday. When it was close to our birthday, we checked the mail every day until the cards came from Brooklyn, New York.

We anxiously opened our cards to discover a big old quarter. We were so excited because back then, our Aunt Ruby had a general store and in the late 1950s and early 1960s, we could buy cookies and candies for one penny. If we were patient, we would wait for the cookies to break and ask Aunt Ruby if we could buy the broken ones, that way we would get a discount. Instead of one cookie, she gave us two broken ones for a penny. Sodas and honeybuns were 10 cents each.

As we got older, Grandmother Louise started sending us one dollar. Oh boy, we felt almost rich! There were so many more goodies we could buy.

Our grandmother is gone now, but we have so many loving memories of her.

Charlene Hall, Riegelwood, A member of Four County EMC