Mom didn’t make many notes in my Sweet Baby Days memory book about my second birthday – on Monday, October 2, 1973. Only that “Brad’s second birthday was spent at our new house at 3574 Echo Hill Lane.” Clearly the new house that we had just acquired less than two months prior was still garnering all the attention. However, my birthday celebration was the first event since our Cumberland trip that Summer to capture Dad’s attention enough to dictate that he pull out the Super 8 movie camera.
The film was very brief, only showing me attempting to blow out the candles on my chocolate cake with caramel icing – and nearly catching my hair on fire in the process. It then moves on to showing me open up two of my gifts, both iconic toys from my youth that lingered around throughout my childhood years: the red metal tractor and the Playskool Nokout Bench.
Ready to blow out the candles in our kitchen
Nearly setting my hair on fire in the process
Proud of my accomplishment once I had extinguished the flames
Practicing with my hammer. I would soon use this very same hammer to whack my Dad in the ankle…immediately after he had just sprained it!
The red wagon enters my life
The rest of the story can be pretty easily determined from the numerous slides that my parents took surrounding my birthday. It indeed corroborates Mom’s story that we hosted my party at our new house. From photos, it appears that only my Mom’s side of the family was present for this celebration on Echo Hill.
Cowboy caramel cake
Starting off with the clothes. I’m more interested in the wrap.
The new Nokout bench. No doubt this toy would be some sort of safety hazard these days.
This metal tractor would probably be a collector’s item today. It most likely went for a quarter in garage sale a decade later.
Lawnmower noisemaker
Instead of iPods, two year olds used to get Fisher Price record players
Getting me interested in the Cincinnati Bengals. They’ve broken my heart many a year since.
One last gift. I like it.
Grandpa Murphy, Mom, Grandma Murphy, Bev, and Ed relax whilst my toys sit idly by and I play with a gift bow
Tom rocks, Mom cleans up the mess, and Diana obscures Grandma who is holding five-month old Debby
Then as we had done the previous year (and would continue to do for a few more), we would have a joint party at Bill and Dottie’s place in New Lebanon for my cousin Rob (whose birthday fell on October 15) and me. Here I gathered another batch of gifts from my Dad’s side of the family.
Bill and Dottie’s house on Holderman in New Lebanon with our Hornet in the driveway. They had just moved here about the same time that we moved to Echo Hill.
I tackle my birthday gifts and Robby does the same in his quadrant
With a new blue toy jeep as the drool begins to mount on my new birthday shirt. This jeep gift I cannot remember.
I don’t remember this puzzle either. Did we remember to take these gifts home?
Rob gets some cold hard birthday cash
Birthbay boys: me at two, Rob at five
And that was that. I was now two years old. In a brand new house. Full of mischief and ready to pounce on an unforgettable childhood.
1973 will continue…
The Playskool Nokout Bench and the Fisher Price Record Player sure bring back memories. How many countless hours were spent beating colored pegs through those holes. Who needs a Wii!
Dave Chasteen
December 7th, 2008