Sure were,1940's my Mom and her sister,in early teens,were allowed to take bus to movies in Downtown CLEVELAND,unescorted at 11 PM at night!

I lived just outside Portland,Or in my pre/early teens.House had a forest behind it,yet bus service right into downtown Portland,every 15 minutes! We took bus to shop because it was so convenient,crazy huh?

LOL.Bus is my worst case survival transportation now,world has changed for sure.

Me too. I just stuffed them in my pockets. Upgraded to an Altoids tin kit when I hit double digits, and started carrying an edc backpack in high school. One set of Grandparents had a farm that was bordered by a creek and a forest, and the other lived on the river way outside of town. We had the freedom to explore and the imagination to have a blast adventuring. I still remember the day when I was finally allowed to take the boat out own my own for the first time. Of course, I also remember the day I fell through the ice on that creek in the middle of winter. That was freedom baby! I never did solo over-nighters out of site of the back porch until my late twenties though.