Damn Scooter, I 'spose you watched Lassie and Rin Tin Tin too? Sky King?

But of course I did.

...and don't forget JP Patches.

I remember when I had to clear the hair away from my ears, so I could clean my ears.

Now, the longest hair I have, is growing OUT of my ears!

I remember in the 70s when Republican wins were noted in BLUE areas not communist red as were the Democrats.

I grew up in Sacramento and I remember the B52 bombers at Mather Field. Really scared me at 6:00AM on Sunday morning when they took off. Low and slow over south Sacramento neighborhood where I grew up. Remember duck and cover drills in elementary school and I also remember the pledge of allegiance we said everyday in elementary school.

The Cold War was still going on when I was in college and got a summer job delivering water beds. We made regular deliveries to houses inside Mather AFB and you could see the B52 bombers with armed guards guarding the B52s.

And... Lone Ranger (original CV-19 mask) actor and Tonto, Gunsmoke, The Cisco Kid, Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Rifleman, Wanted-Dead or Alive to name a few, in black & white TeeVee.

I'm beyond old.

I still watch Star Trek every night on OTA channel 44-3.

F-Troop

Grew up in Woodland, CA here before moving to Redlands in Southern California. The state used to be thick with air force bases. There were four in the Sacramento area alone (Travis, Mather, McClellan, Beale). Plus there was another B-52 base a bit farther south in Atwater, CA in the San Joaquin Valley (Castle AFB). And that doesn't even cover all the bases in Southern California (Edwards, Vandenburg, George, Norton, March). Many were closed and repurposed in the BRAC process starting at the end of the Cold War.

I remember daily seeing all the C-141 Starlifters climbing out of Norton AFB as a teenager and the occasional B-52 from March AFB to the south. The Air Force also developed the Peacekeeper MX ICBM at Norton AFB which had an office for ballistic missile development (though the actual testing was done at Vandenburg AFB near Santa Barbara). I also remember the thick lead lined curtains of our classrooms in Junior High School. Don't think it would have done us much good though.

Never saw a TV till I was 6. We had the first one in town. Stations came on at 1600 and shut down at 2200. WRGB (W2XB then) was the first in the country.

base access wasn't restricted, except for sensitive areas.

You could drive on post without stopping at any gates, and park outside the airstrip and watch planes take off.

They had security at Mather AFB since the base houses were at the Air Force base. They miles of fences around that base. We had to open up the the truck and security would see water beds and furniture . It was not as secure as where the B52 bombers were parked.

My friends and used to drive all over the fort Lewis reservation in the late 70’s

I got caught in '71 down by Yelm/Rainier on the training range range during a live ammo ordinance exercise. More surrendered than caught! 105 howitzers rounds are very...inspirational