KATHY G’S  BIRTHDAY PARTY

So many summers ago, on a brick street called 56th street was a huge house that was originally a golf course field house. After 9 holes, golfers would cross the street and go in this house with a huge porch , rest and have a drink.

As times changed, the Country Club of Benson moved further out to the edge of town. A developer took it over, and the Country Club became the name of a development that was many blocks wide as long. This was Omaha and billow lights lit the street at night. Nearly every house was made of brick.  That does not mean it was brick facade. It was all brick.

On July 21, 1955, Kathy had her birthday. We were now 12 and almost grown up. That meant that we would be attending our first girl-boy party. Kathy had the best dress on and so all the girls were a bit jealous. There may have been 20 of us, equally divided by sex.

I wore a new tan gabardine pant, tie shoes, and a checkered shirt. Wearing a hair style that was short, I put some “Even Up” wax on the front of my crew cut. With gift in hand, I walked the two blocks to the party.

As the party started, Kathy had one of those new 45’s. Thus, you just put 6 little vinyl records on the machine and you got 6 consecutive hits. Someone had taught me how to dance so we did the two step to slow ballads, and jitterbug to rock and roll.

It was a summer day, but not hot although sunny. Around the middle of the party Kathy open her presents and she was delighted. I really liked Marilyn K. but I also danced with Jackie S. Jackie was a first class tomboy and she seemed out of place with her white lace dress on. However, we had a good dance.

The party was held on the front porch which was huge. The porch  that opened to the fresh air had the record player and punch. The back of the front porch was screened in and had a lamp and chairs. So you danced in the front and rested and talked in the back.

Years later, I would drive by and Kathy’s mom could be seen reading the newspaper on the front porch and had the lamp on. So many summers ago, I can remember seeing her there on the porch around dusk.  

The party was a smash hit. It had to be we were the kids of Rose hill and we were all above average. Nick Nolte was one class ahead of us and  Warren Buffet had attended our grade school years before.

Later, we would have stop and kiss dances.  The  boy had to lead, but when the record stopped, the boy kissed  the girl on the cheek. We also drank some punch. What was in the punch? Well it was  heavy doses of sugar and  lemon or lime. Wow!

Was that 60 years ago? I think so. We danced and danced into the ages. Many are probably gone now, but it was my first real party with girls. I use to go over Kathy’s at other times, and we would play with her toys. Once I fell off the porch and cut my upper left eye brow. Kathy had gone inside as I said good bye, fell, and ran home. I wore a red jacket and blood dripped down my face on to the jacket.

The cut looked worse than it was and within an hour or so, a medical doctor in downtown Benson stitched the wound back into shape. That’s it. We were kids being introduced into the adult world.

For me, the last day at Rose Hill was the last day of going to school and liking it. After that, all the schools were big, impersonal, with teachers who had  too many students and not much pay. They did their best in one  the most prosperous times in American history.

The brick on 56th street is still there and the  brick houses located on the east side have kept their value. Of course, there are new names and new faces, but the dance that day was  for our generation and our time. 

Prof. Joel Snell

July 23, 2015

Kathy passed away in 2024.