  In this paper we present the first $BVI$ CCD photometry of six overlooked old
open clusters (Berkeley 44, NGC 6827, Berkeley 52, Berkeley 56, Skiff 1 and
Berkeley 5) and derive estimates of their fundamental parameters by using
isochrones from the Padova library (Girardi et al. 2000). We found that all the
clusters are older than the Hyades, with ages ranging from 0.8 (NGC 6827 and
Berkeley 5) to 4.0 (Berkeley 56) Gyr. This latter is one of the old open
clusters with the largest heliocentric distance. In the field of Skiff 1 we
recognize a faint blue Main Sequence identical to the one found in the
background of open clusters in the Second and Third Galactic Quadrant, and
routinely attributed to the Canis Major accretion event. We use the synthetic
Color Magnitude Diagram method and a Galactic model to show that this
population can be easily interpreted as Thick Disk and Halo population toward
Skiff 1. We finally revise the old open clusters age distribution, showing that
the previously suggested peak at 5 Gyr looses importance as additional old
clusters are discovered.
