Did you actually experience such drills, personally? I went from first grade through high school during this period and never even heard of any drills remotely like that. I am not sure they were ever anything but an urban legend. If other FReepers actually participated in such drills, I would be interested to know.
Drop and cover for atomic attack.
Definitely did it in Cleveland schools in the 50s, I was in elementary grades then.
Yes. We did have drop and cover drills almost weekly during that period.
They are NOT an urban legend.
I lived in El Paso at the time, and we were located near the Army's Air Defense Center at Fort Bliss.
Many of my neighbors also built bomb shelters in their backyards and equipped them per Civil Defense instructions.
The threat of nuclear war was taken very seriously at the time.
In my opinion, we are in MUCH graver danger now than we were then.
Lincoln Elementary....Anaheim, CA.
FWIW-
No, the drills were practiced as late as the mid sixties. I remember them in first, second and third grades. They have video tapes showing these drills in various years.
Not an urban legend, Irene.
I went to a grade school where we practiced that regularly.
I don't know where you went to school, but I sure remember them. As a matter of fact when I student taught in 1966 we were still teaching those drills...
I had 'Duck and Cover' drills when I was a kid. Not an urban legend for me.
I went to school on a Marine Corps base (MCAS Beaufort), so may experience may not be typical.
Where were you?
YES, we had Under the Desk Drills in the 1950's here in Washington, the STATE.
I'm 43, and grew up in Southern California. Attended both private and public schools. We did them about as frequently as fire drills are conducted.
The reason, IIRC, was to protect against nuclear attack and earthquakes.
I grew up and attended school in a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska. We had the Strategic Air Command nearby, and as kids we always talked about how we would be "the first to be bombed" if a war broke out against the USSR. We conducted "under the desk" drills, probably once a year or so. This would have been in the late 1960s and early 1970s in grade school. We did not have these drills in middle or high school.
We also practiced tornado drills, where we all sat against the hall way walls. Those were less scary than the nuclear drills.
"If other FReepers actually participated in such drills, I would be interested to know."
As I remember the drills, they were pretty frequent during elementary school and maybe once a month in junior high. Don't remember doing them at all in high school. (1960-1970)
We did "Duck & Cover" drills at least monthly when I was in elementary school in Southern California in the early 60's. One time I was in such a hurry to get under my desk I hit my head on it, after the drill they had to call the school nurse because I had knocked myself cold.
Not an urban legend. I attended Stonehedge Elementary School in Camillus, NY from 1962-68. We did the drills.
Not an urban legend. We had these drills monthly, just as we had fire and tornado drills. I can remember sitting under my desk waiting for the all clear.
Definitely NOT an urban legend. I was a teacher during those years, and we had frequent drills, just as described.
I remember the drills when I went to grammar school in New York City in the early 60's. I think it depended on where you were. If the school was not in a major city or close to a military facility, there was no point in it.