It was still stocked with survival candies and crackers from 1962. This was in 1975-76.

All of them had fallout shelters.

I lived near Wright Patterson AFB and we had a SAC bomber group there. I thought if I saw them all taking off at once it was over.

The first high school I attended had one. I remember when I was younger, asking grownups what they were for, and no one would give me a straight answer.

Our class dutifully trooped down the stairs to the school basement and crowded into the fallout shelter. It seemed very dreary, but in those pre-Pentagon Papers days, grade schoolers were indoctrinated to believe that the grown-ups and the government would look out for us, and we'd be okay.

It's funny, I never really noticed that they had even gone away.

...was that poster that showed up in the late sixties:

Instructions for preparing for nuclear attack:

?JWcDI4lA

They were everywhere.

We figured that Flint, MI would be a secondary target because of all the car factories (well, nobody but the state government is interested in destroying the city any more). The factories (while they still existed) were kept on war ready status after WWII so that they could be converted to manufacturing tanks in a hurry.

Bomarc II missiles, nuclear tipped anti-aircraft missiles each about half the yield of the Hiroshima bomb. At the far end of their range, they could make it to the Canadian border, other wise they would be going off within Minnesota.

Only thing between was an empty field and the trees around the missile base.

And yes, I believe the school was a fallout shelter.

Not many buildings in small country towns qualified for the job.

I also recall the phobia during the 50s/60s red scare that permeated rich folks lives due to some pretty slick advertising for home fallout shelters. Some construction companies made out like bandits. Even some farmers dug the damn things near their homes.

A lot of folks also participated in Civil Defense groups back then, too.

We're showing our age........ .........