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dflprincess

(29,417 posts)

141. So did anyone else go to a school where they had an air raid drill that timed how long it would

Tue Mar 18, 2014, 08:46 PM

Mar 2014

take to get the kiddies home?

This happened at my elementary school during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Those of us who were "walkers" were told we had to get home as quickly as possible and then our moms (who were all home in those days) recorded what time we got home on a card we took back to school the next day. We weren't told exactly why this was being done just that it was important that we not dawdle getting home and I, at least the kids I walked to school with all took it seriously.

I don't know when it dawned on me that it was done to see if we could be sent home to die with our families if it came to that. We were living near Buffalo, NY at the time and it was assumed that the steel plants (and I think some nike missile sites) would make the area a target.

Being only 9 I didn't realize the gravity of the situation until our TV broke. My brother and I always considered that a tragedy but our parents did not. After hauling our set off to the shop, the TV repairman came back with a loaner - that had never happened before and I heard him tell my mom that he thought they should have TV so they could watch Kennedy's speech that night not just listen to the radio.

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Calling all DUers who were children in the 50's and 60's..your expertise is needed [View all] Peacetrain Mar 2014 OP

I should have stayed hidden under my school desk. TheCowsCameHome Mar 2014 #1

ROFL... Peacetrain Mar 2014 #4

I've wondered where you went! RKP5637 Mar 2014 #47

Or, we could refuse to replay the cold war and mind our own business this time. Tierra_y_Libertad Mar 2014 #2

And let all the Eastern Countries of Europe be looted & terrorized again? Not this time. nt William769 Mar 2014 #10

The Bogeyman is coming!! EEK! Quick! Send more money to the MIC!! Tierra_y_Libertad Mar 2014 #14

At some point they need to learn to stand up for avebury Mar 2014 #46

We get involved when 840high Mar 2014 #84

Exactly - TBF Mar 2014 #135

They'll take care of themselves. 840high Mar 2014 #81

How about all the looting and terrorizing that goes on in other places? arikara Mar 2014 #121

Why can't Europe handle it? whathehell Mar 2014 #137

Duck and cover was a joke back then and it will be now. Cleita Mar 2014 #3

I was 8 years old at the time.. Peacetrain Mar 2014 #5

That was the idea. Cleita Mar 2014 #19

Do you remember all the backyard bomb shelters Peacetrain Mar 2014 #22

Yep, but in my neighborhood only a couple of families Cleita Mar 2014 #25

Well I was about 8 or 9 at the time.. Peacetrain Mar 2014 #28

So you only had it for a year of your life? Cleita Mar 2014 #30

That is when it had the most impact.. Peacetrain Mar 2014 #39

Does anyone remember that effing turtle cartoon they ran all the time? Quasimodem Mar 2014 #95

Bert Go Vols Mar 2014 #127

Here nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #145

I remember running into the house every time a plane went overhead Voice for Peace Mar 2014 #50

OMG those pipi_k Mar 2014 #56

Living in NYC during the blackout of 1977. People were afraid SummerSnow Mar 2014 #75

Anyone who hasn't seen "On the Beach" is missing something tech3149 Mar 2014 #91

Wow! Cleita Mar 2014 #100

That movie scared the bejeezus out of me. So did the book. catbyte Mar 2014 #128

I was too young, but my sister used to do that. They had a tower on the roof of the RKP5637 Mar 2014 #55

Yes, I remember the CAP, shapes of planes, etc. Frustratedlady Mar 2014 #105

We explored the possibility of using the root cellar Ms. Toad Mar 2014 #43

... Arugula Latte Mar 2014 #124

Thanks for the video tech3149 Mar 2014 #129

My uncle built one in his basement that turned into my cousin David's room. catbyte Mar 2014 #126

We had a U.S. Nike site at the end of the street... DonViejo Mar 2014 #6

It really is hard to explain to people Peacetrain Mar 2014 #9

Meanwhile... DonViejo Mar 2014 #21

Ah Yep! Peacetrain Mar 2014 #23

I spent two days in our bomb shelter Lifelong Protester Mar 2014 #78

I went downstairs to check out the crawlspace murielm99 Mar 2014 #98

My dad found me poking around our basement trying to figure out where we could hide dflprincess Mar 2014 #140

I'll tell you what did it for me: murielm99 Mar 2014 #146

Fogettaboutit El Supremo Mar 2014 #7

Putin with his shirt off Peacetrain Mar 2014 #12

I'm not worried about global nuclear war now.....no reason to be. AverageJoe90 Mar 2014 #8

Same here, domestic bothers me. I fear there are a fair number of people in RKP5637 Mar 2014 #65

I think we had more to fear from our own missiles back then Art_from_Ark Mar 2014 #11

It's not the KGB that's restarting the cold war, IMHO. grahamhgreen Mar 2014 #13

That is easy analysis to make since the KGB no longer exists. nt stevenleser Mar 2014 #60

It's now called the FSB hobbit709 Mar 2014 #113

Actually, its probably more accurate to say it split into two parts SVR and FSB stevenleser Mar 2014 #114

A lot of the same people, just under a different name. hobbit709 Mar 2014 #115

Everything old is new again, including a brand new crop of McCarthyites. DisgustipatedinCA Mar 2014 #15

I am older and less nimble. Better raise my desk up so I can get under it. riqster Mar 2014 #16

I hear that! Peacetrain Mar 2014 #18

this isn't even remotely a cold war like the Soviet/US relationship during the 50s and 60s.... mike_c Mar 2014 #17

I agree zeemike Mar 2014 #89

I grew up in the suburbs of Wash DC and dont recall ever doing duck and cover... KG Mar 2014 #20

I don't know how you missed out on those fun and games Peacetrain Mar 2014 #24

probably because everyone knew that DC was gone no matter what. nt littlewolf Mar 2014 #26

Zakly. DC was gonna be a glowing crater ten times over. No need to duck/cover. nt Nay Mar 2014 #58

Maybe they figgered anyone close to DC was a lost cause... countryjake Mar 2014 #29

Well DC would have been ground zero so MyNameGoesHere Mar 2014 #54

i remember when getting under my desk protected me from a nuclear holocaust. spanone Mar 2014 #27

We did both.. Peacetrain Mar 2014 #32

when as a child you could be vaporized in seconds, the 60's were a fabulous alternative.. spanone Mar 2014 #38

"Why we tuned in, turned on, and dropped out in the late 60's" blue neen Mar 2014 #69

I was wondering rickyhall Mar 2014 #92

one of our neighbors built a bomb shelter...professional co. built it spanone Mar 2014 #97

That's crazy. delrem Mar 2014 #31

The best thing would be to get rid of the nuclear weapons world wide, but struggle4progress Mar 2014 #33

Seems everyone who has tried has either been assassinated, discredited and Cleita Mar 2014 #41

That is empty ideological sloganeering struggle4progress Mar 2014 #67

No. It's historical fact. You should try looking at facts. Cleita Mar 2014 #77

"Hopeless! Hopeless! Hopeless" is a lazy substitute for activism struggle4progress Mar 2014 #110

That's kind of an empty ideological reply... villager Mar 2014 #87

"Hopeless! Hopeless! Hopeless" is a lazy substitute for activism struggle4progress Mar 2014 #109

"Never, ever questioning the official story" is a lazy substitute for citizenship villager Mar 2014 #120

That's also vacuous. It's interesting nobody addressed what I said in #33 struggle4progress Mar 2014 #134

"That's also vacuous" villager Mar 2014 #136

Really? Ask Oppenheimer..... rppper Mar 2014 #104

Do you realize that the Oppenheimer affair was over 60 years ago and struggle4progress Mar 2014 #107

Thanks for taking the death angle and.... rppper Mar 2014 #122

Most of my response was #33 upthread struggle4progress Mar 2014 #133

I was thinking, perhaps we could offer Sarah Palin as a peace offering, she seems to have Thinkingabout Mar 2014 #34

Long meaningful glances from her back porch, and all... Scootaloo Mar 2014 #37

He might even select her to run as his vice president. Thinkingabout Mar 2014 #40

You know, when my generation wants to feel nostalgic... Scootaloo Mar 2014 #35

It's impossible to be in that age group and not recall duck and cover under our little wooden desks Douglas Carpenter Mar 2014 #36

Yup. Been there and done the duck and cover under the desks. n/t RebelOne Mar 2014 #144

Duck and cover never really ended. JackRiddler Mar 2014 #42

"Kiss Your Ass Goodbye" DinahMoeHum Mar 2014 #44

i remember that poster! spanone Mar 2014 #57

Yep, but long before it became a poster, it was said by the Cleita Mar 2014 #79

I remember that poster too. Brigid Mar 2014 #85

In my early youth I was afraid of Germany, then later the cold war. We used to RKP5637 Mar 2014 #45

We still have an air raid siren at the bottom of our property. Cleita Mar 2014 #86

Duck and cover was only for the cities. Downwinder Mar 2014 #48

The Fear We Had As Kids grilled onions Mar 2014 #49

One of my coworkers grew up in Moscow dflprincess Mar 2014 #51

You were both right. Ronald Reagan was evil. Enthusiast Mar 2014 #111

I had a similar experience with visiting scholars from China Lydia Leftcoast Mar 2014 #142

Dirty kid-terrorizing bastards pipi_k Mar 2014 #52

That duck and cover shit was for wussies Brother Buzz Mar 2014 #53

Yep, been having Cold War flashbacks lately. Brigid Mar 2014 #59

Recovery in manufacturing as we build 316,000,000 new desks... n/t jtuck004 Mar 2014 #61

Our friends up the street built a bomb shelter. El Supremo Mar 2014 #62

No one's going to nuke anybody - that's strictly old school. scarletwoman Mar 2014 #63

A blast from the past Generic Other Mar 2014 #64

Seeing this pipi_k Mar 2014 #143

cold war kardonb Mar 2014 #66

Raised during the early years of Cold War, finally de-programmed from all the Hate Commie Rhetoric 2banon Mar 2014 #68

Never had Duck & Cover, but did have Nuclear Missile Base about a mile from school. Thor_MN Mar 2014 #70

This is not your father's cold war - it's a silly parody version, play acting. reformist2 Mar 2014 #71

Putin is an old KGB guy and he will not change. Manifestor_of_Light Mar 2014 #72

I remember there was many fallout shelter signs in NYC. I also SummerSnow Mar 2014 #73

I remember going to sleep many, many nights wondering if that was the night valerief Mar 2014 #74

The biggest secret of the Cold War was,.... Spitfire of ATJ Mar 2014 #76

We still have plenty of fallout shelter signs in old NY BeyondGeography Mar 2014 #80

"THIS IS A CONELRAD ALERT!" longship Mar 2014 #82

Cuban Missile Crises, South Florida, tea and oranges Mar 2014 #83

My father was in the Air Force, at Wright-Patterson during that time MindPilot Mar 2014 #90

Oh no! tea and oranges Mar 2014 #94

Worst of all... brooklynboy49 Mar 2014 #88

"learn goddamit" hfojvt Mar 2014 #93

I was born in 1951. 3catwoman3 Mar 2014 #96

haha too true flamingdem Mar 2014 #99

Nope. I refuse to do that junk again. Unlikely to happen, but if it does Hoyt Mar 2014 #101

My father was in the army until '75... rppper Mar 2014 #102

Yeah, for us military kids it was very real. MindPilot Mar 2014 #116

Was he Navy? rppper Mar 2014 #125

so true Blue_Roses Mar 2014 #103

I remember duck & cover AND being ushered to the cafeteria to stand napi21 Mar 2014 #106

50's and 60's? Shit we were still doing kiss your ass goodbye almost to the end TheKentuckian Mar 2014 #108

My earliest memories are of the occupation troops in the streets of Vienna. hobbit709 Mar 2014 #112

I remember as a little kid thinking that I wanted to be very rich one day, not for the usual reasons LeftishBrit Mar 2014 #117

Just popped in and saw this Peacetrain Mar 2014 #118

We never stopped doing duck and cover drills. LWolf Mar 2014 #119

unrec PowerToThePeople Mar 2014 #123

One thing for sure, Putin is no "idiot". bvar22 Mar 2014 #130

I still know where the FALLOUT shelters are. tosh Mar 2014 #131

It's not the same situation at all. MineralMan Mar 2014 #132

Funny, I was just thinking about that today...We're not going to war with Russia.. whathehell Mar 2014 #138

And we used to tune in to Sat. kids shows. idendoit Mar 2014 #139

So did anyone else go to a school where they had an air raid drill that timed how long it would dflprincess Mar 2014 #141