Has community and school have changed over the past 50 years?

They sure have! Take a look at this picture: rarehistoricalphotos.com/john-f-kennedy-campaigns-rural-west-virginia-precariously-perched-high-chair-deliver-speech-1960/

In modern America, people would have a cow if they saw a kid toting a pistol. It would be considered quite odd to see unsupervised kids at all. I have heard stories about people being arrested because they allowed their school age children to go outside alone. Fifty years ago children got out of the house after breakfast and did not come back until dinner time.

Here is an article that perfectly describes my childhood play facilities (this is in Wales): www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/03/hey-parents-leave-those-kids-alone/358631/