I'm probably a bit younger than you, hikermor, but I concur. I remember bringing my deer rifle to school for show-and-tell in middle school and the teacher was fine with it! The job I worked during HS and my first year of college was the same; my boss knew I was a "gun guy" and was considering the purchase of one he knew I had (a Ruger Mini-14), so he asked me if I would mind bringing it to work so he could check it out (!! ). So I did. Right there in the kitchen he was pointing it around.

Naturally even then small town SD was probably not the same as CA. But even here that would bring a SWAT team today.