August 1964, my first flight in a light airplane, Aeronca Champ, looked like this one:




Three months later, November 1964, passed the Private Pilot Checkride and now legal to carry passengers. My first passenger was my wife-to-be.

circa 1957 Jr High, entire 7th grade Boys Class assembly in the Auditorium. Presentation & lecture on firearm safety, followed by demonstration and then, individual volunteers firing of air guns thru a paper target into a small backstop at maybe 20' away.

It was my first non-BB gun adventure. Way more accurate than the garden varminter Red Rider.....

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Originally posted by V-Tail:
August 1964, my first flight in a light airplane, Aeronca Champ, looked like this one:




Three months later, November 1964, passed the Private Pilot Checkride and now legal to carry passengers. My first passenger was my wife-to-be.

I used to deliver to the Aeronca plant in Hamilton Ohio.

When I was a wee lad there was a cool, older (but not old) guy in my neighborhood who used to open-carry a pistol (can't remember if it was a 1911) on his belt every time he went to party in The City. San Freakin' Francisco. Police used to hassle him about it, but couldn't do anything else as it wasn't technically illegal.

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1964-it was a special year for me.

Skipped school on my birthday to go get my drivers license. Life only got better from there, and eventually Uncle Sam gave me a ticket to see the whole world.

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Originally posted by radioman:

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1964, a different time in America

And everyone was happy listening to The Beatles on AM radio, and watching The Andy Griffith Show on the black and white TV.

My son and I still watch Andy Griffith. No swearing or sex just good humor.

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Originally posted by Schmelby:

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Originally posted by kyoung:
When I was in high school, it was nothing to see pickups with easy rider rifle racks in the back window with a rifle or shotgun in them, parked at school.

I remember them too. Good Lord what happen to you today if you had one.

Some asshole would shatter the door glass and steal the rifle.

February 1961, I was being discharged from active duty in US Army.

I was asked if I wanted to purchase my recently new H&R M1 Garand, only $63 USD. I could take it home with me.

I passed on the offer.

The M1 Grand was being phased out to be replaced by the M14.

I grew up in a suburb located at the edge of Chicago's far NW side ( Park Ridge).
Our High School had a indoor range located in the schools rotunda basement. The school also had several target grade 22 rifles. On Fridays after school we had Rifle Club. You could use the schools rifles or bring your own. If you owned a semi-auto 22 you could shoot it but had to load one at a time. I had my first real gun, bought at the local sporting goods store.
I still own that Remington Nylon 66.

I never remember the schools closing for weather. In 1967 they let our High School out early because of a huge blizzard. I put on all my wrestling sweat suits and walked home in the blizzard.Never thought twice about it, nor did the parents at the time. Never rode a bus to or from any schools, local schools, local students.
I don't remember any crime except one of the biggest criminals of all time grew up on the next block over from me, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham at the time.
My Father was a Teacher, then a Principal, and eventually a School Superintendent. He worked as a Teacher then Principal in the same districts I attended. His favorite story when he got old was about Hillary. She was in grade school and apparently refused to jump rope in gym class.All the teachers were up set with her refusal, she needed to be disciplined!

Times have sure changed.

I was born in 1964, so my fondest memory was meeting my parents for the first time! We lived in rural Marin County, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, and by 9 my dad had bought us .22s and we would just take 'em out to the woods and shoot. Never questioned by anyone while walking down the road or when meeting others. Ammo was always on the birthday/holiday wish list, or if we had a dollar or two we could get a few hundred rounds at the hardware store. I don't think San Francisco is the same nowadays.

Many of you guys are making me feel old.
1964-65 was my senior year in HS.

And yeah, carrying my pre WWII Geco single shot bolt action 22 several miles to a quary to shoot during my teen and pre-teen years raised absolutely zero concerns from anyone.

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Originally posted by ohioup:
It all began to change around 1990 with the passage of the guns free school act. Guns in students'and teachers'cars and trucks parked at my small rural school were quite common up to that point. No one batted an eye. Things got stupid rather quickly after 1990.

That seems about right.
As late as '89 I brought my 870 into my Public Speaking class at a private college to do a speech presentation. Mine was "How to clean a shotgun".
The professor didn't care and actually looked down the barrel to view how clean it was. I think he may have served in the past.

Interestingly, the guy after me to do his speech presentation started out w/ "What he said", as he was demonstrating the same thing.

In 1964 I was 9 and brought 2 small swords to school for a project.

Other than "cool, can I hold those", nothing more was said by anyone including staff.

It was not a big deal and quite normal.

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Originally posted by Schmelby:

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Originally posted by kyoung:
When I was in high school, it was nothing to see pickups with easy rider rifle racks in the back window with a rifle or shotgun in them, parked at school.

I remember them too. Good Lord what happen to you today if you had one.

In Boston... almost nothing. The unarmed school safety officer would ask you for it and Mayor WU-bot would promise everyone "wrap around social services".

Cops ... Metal detectors ? pulled so the DEI kids don't feel over-policed.

It's full nuts

"And everyone was happy listening to The Beatles on AM radio
In their two door Chevelle station wagon.

A h h h h those were the days

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Originally posted by Schmelby:
He said the hardware store in the small town never locked its doors, If a farmer needed
something desperatly he would go in and take it and the next time he came to town he would
pay for it.

Ditto for the grain mill in my home village mid 1960's/early 1970's. They carried more construction materials than the hardware store. Frequently, you'd find nobody there, so if you needed a pound of nails or a some hinges or whatever, you'd write down what you took in a spiral notebook at the counter and pay for it the next time you came by.

The thing they were most worried about getting pilfered seemed to be the promotional pencils.

When Chuckleheads say,"We can't go back to the 1950's......" I ask," Why not?" Those were far better days in a far better culture. Sure there were corrections that needed to be made, but they've thrown the baby out with the bath water.

Oh my God you folk done took me down memory lane,Damn what happened to all the things in a simpler time

July-Sept 1964, US Army Basic Training, Fort Knox Kentucky. We were told we were the last Basic Training unit to train with the M1 rifle. Didn't see an M14 until AIT. Ate Thanksgiving dinner on a troop ship headed to West Germany.