I remember the Christmas that I was in fourth grade. The year was 1962. We lived in Ohio. It was to be our last Christmas there before we moved to West Virginia the following summer.

I was nine years old and my sister was five. Of course, we still believed in Santa Claus. I could not get to sleep the night before.

In the morning, we woke up to such a wonderful Christmas! It seemed that we got more gifts than usual that year. But the one that was the most special was the Barbie Doll. It was the original, pony-tail Barbie with the black and white striped swimsuit. My sister and I each got one alike.

It came with a shiny, black case. My sister's case was blue. There was a section for the doll to be put in, and a wider section for her clothes. There was a little bar across the wider section to hang up her clothes, like a closet. At the bottom of that section was a drawer. That was where you could keep her shoes and small accessories.

Her outfits came in a set. Included would be the dress and shoes. Each outfit had a name. One glamorous piece was called "Enchanted Evening". It was a long, black gown. It had a tight fitting bodice and flared out at the bottom. Of course, there were black shoes to match. I wanted that dress so badly for my Barbie, but it was too expensive.

Even now, forty years later, when I smell that scent of a certain kind of plastic, it brings back memories of Christmas toys when I was a child.

Ball Bearing Skates

When I was a little girl in the 1960's, one of our favorite activities was roller skating. I lived in Ohio. The streets were several blocks long, the land was flat. Sidewalks lined the streets. A skater's paradise!

Our skates were not like the ones kids have today. They fastened to your shoes. You had to make sure to wear a sturdy pair of shoes. You set your shoe into the skate, which was a flat, metal sole. It had curved metal clips that came up around your toes, and there was a heel support in the back. After you put your foot in the skate, you used a skate key to tighten it up. We kept the skate key on a string around our neck, so we wouldn't lose it. The skates were called "ball bearing skates".

How we loved those skates! After school or on Saturday mornings, we would don the skates and fly up and down the blocks. We got to be pretty good - not too many falls. You felt free and happy, as if you were skating away all the problems that a nine year old could have.

In the winter time, we would actually skate inside. Our basement was large and open. My mother would let us skate around the basement. And on Saturday's I would go to the roller rink with a friend. I just wore my regular play clothes, but some of the girls had darling skating outfits. They would have short skating skirts, sweaters, and tights. The music would play, and we would spend a wonderful afternoon sailing around the rink. All too soon, it was time to go home.

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Credits: Inez Haythorn