Alexander-Spatol-Miller Reunion-1957

In 1957 my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Joe Spatol hosted a family reunion at their house. They lived in a small house behind Joe's parents. His parents ran a big strawberry farm. I picked strawberries there a few times for 4 or 5 cents a quart. And eat all I wanted too. Ha! Aunt Ruth did not have a toilet at that time. Only an outhouse. Later on when their oldest daughter got her first job, she bought them a bathroom.
It was a fun reunion that day. My mother's siblings were all there. I think it's the last time we ever were all together like that. I had my first camera and I was always taking pictures. It's a good thing because most of the photos I have from the 50's and 60's were from my camera. I first used an old Brownie Camera, then my Aunt Dorothy bought me a brand new one. It was light green. Aunt Dorothy was the oldest in my mother's family. She was a secretary for The Shell Oil Company for 35 years and always had new cars and nice little apartments. She had married once but it only lasted ten years. She had no children. She'd come down to visit and always bring something, like ice cream etc. Or she'd take us all out to get ice cream in the summer. She'd have to take us in shifts though..Ha! Ha! Then we'd all fight over who was going to go when mom did. Aunt Dorothy liked her convertibles. Then there was Uncle Neil and his wife, Helen and their three kids. They were sort of "high class" acting people and we never were close to them. Uncle Neil worked at The Remington Arms Factory here in Ilion, NY. Aunt Ruth had four children. One of them had "Downs" syndrome. We called it something else back then though. Uncle Joe worked in construction as a heavy equipment operator. Then there was Uncle Don and his wife, Helen and their three children. I always liked Uncle Don. He never lived close though. He had a Government job that took him other places. My mother, Betty, was the youngest. She was only 13 years old when her mother died from Kidney problems. Her father, Alex, ended up moving out of Ilion, to Rochester and my mother didn't want to go so she ended up living with a friend, who turned out to be our Aunt Mary.
These are a few photos from that day in 1957 at Aunt Ruth's.