[sejje]

I was born before that and issued my SSN at birth.

[jjmarr]

The first pilot project to issue SSNs with the birth certificate automatically was in 1987. You can read the history here:

https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v56n1/v56n1p83.pdf

Prior to that, getting the SSN required giving your birth certificate to the government. If the family wasn't getting government benefits, many didn't bother.