Local man hosting third annual Babies of 1934 event

Published 12:00 am Saturday, June 27, 2009

More than 2 million people were born in the United States in 1934. Wardell Wince is one of them, and, once again, he wants to gather with the other 1934 babies in Vicksburg.

Wince, a retired member of the U.S. Marine Corps, is inviting everyone who shares his birth year to the third annual Babies of 1934 Breakfast on July 11 at the American Legion Post 3, 1712 Monroe St. The event, started in 2007, will be an opportunity, he said, for everyone to talk about things they experienced growing up.

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The third annual Babies of 1934 Breakfast will be at 9 a.m. July 11 at the American Legion Post 3, 1712 Monroe St. Anyone born in 1934 is invited and can bring guests. Tickets are $6 in advance or at the door, and the deadline to register is Wednesday. For more information or to RSVP, call Wardell Wince at 601-634-8602.

“We all have a lot in common,” Wince said. “We were born in the same year, for one.”

Babies of 1934 are welcome to bring guests — regardless of when they were born — to the breakfast. All attendees should sign up by Wednesday by calling Wince at 601-634-8602. Tickets are $6, which can be paid in advance or at the door.

Wince said he hopes to have at least 60 people at the breakfast, including spouses and guests. After breakfast, the 75-year-old coin collector will hand out 1934 Buffalo pennies and 1934 calendars.

“I’ll just pass out the gifts, and we’ll share stories about what went on with our lives back in those days,” Wince said.

Wince was the son of Blue Room owner Tom Wince, who is featured with his wife and 11-year-old Wardell on the Willie Dixon mural on the Riverfront Murals on the downtown floodwall. As a teenager, Wardell hopped a train in Vicksburg, ended up in Illinois, was arrested by railroad detectives and later joined the Marine Corps.

“Everybody has a different story,” Wince said. “Of course, I have more than most people.”

When Wince had the idea for the 1934 breakfast a few years ago, he decided to keep it up for four years, each one better than the last.

Wince quoted Robert F. Kennedy, saying, “Some men see things as they are and ask, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and ask, ‘Why not?’”

“If I wrote down everything I dream about,” he added, “I’d probably get a headache.”

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Contact Andrea Vasquez at avasquez@vicksburgpost.com