The Hardy Boys And Open Carry

[Gadshot]

From page 40 of the 1952 edition of The Secret Of Wildcat Swamp:

After a nourishing breakfast, the three went out to purchase the digging implements they would need. At the general store, the obliging clerk said:

"Since you're headin' into dangerous country, I'd advise you to take along pistols."

"Thanks for the tip," Joe answered. "Do we need permits?"

"Not for pistols carried in plain sight."

"Then we'll buy three."

 

[ColbyBruce]

I wonder what they chose to arm themselves with?

 

[Patrick L]

God I used to love those Hardy Boys books! I was reading them in the 70s, they were old and outdated by then but I still loved them.

I don't recall much in the way of firearms references at all, maybe once or twice.

 

[jem102]

Old man now but when I was young it was Adventures of Tom Swift. I was probably 10 years old and wouldn't touch a book without being thrashed. My mom came home with the first book in the series, handed it to me and walked away. It was a hot summer night in PA and I couldn't sleep. Air conditioning was very rare in those days so out of desperation I opened the book...the next thing I knew it was sunup and I have been a reader ever since.

 

[djohns6]

I read the Hardy Boys when I was a kid . Haven't heard them mentioned in many years .

 

[Mule Packer]

I was an avid Hardy Boys reader in the 50's and 60's. Would usually get a couple of Hardy Boy books from my grandmother for each birthday. Ahhh, yes. The adventures of Joe and Frank. And of course, you can't forget their great detective father, Fenton.

A couple of grandsons picked up the Hardy Boy habit years ago when they were younger and visiting us. They saw my Hardy Boy collection on one of the book shelves, started reading, and were hooked. I gave away most of my Hardy Boy books to the grandkids, but recently noticed that I still have three...The House on the Cliff, The Tower Treasure, and Secret of the Old Mill.

Hmmm. Just might pull one off the shelf tonight and re-read it.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Anybody here ever read the "Bomba the Jungle Boy" series . . . ?

(Edit: This is why we can't have nice things . . . )

 

[michpatriot]

My girls are reading and re- reading my Hardy boys collection...timeless mysteries.

 

[shell627]

I had most of the Hardy boy books from back in the 1960's the ones with blue hardcover.also had quite a few of the older ones.Gave them to my oldest grandson when he was first learning to read.Should have known better.Neither of his parents were readers unless it was on phone or computer.They threw the books out for being clutter.

 

[SF VET]

I think my favorite was Tom Swift and his Atomic Earth Blaster. Had a giant screw on the front. When I was in elementary school, I just loved the Box Car Children our teacher read to us every day. I just couldn't wait to find to what was going to happen next. Like many of you, when I was sent to bed, I would pull the covers up and read with my Boy Scout flashlight.

long long ago. SF VET

 

[riverrat38]

I used to have to mow lawns, etc to buy one of the books, but our grandkids can read the older ones on line for free:

Mystery Stories - The Creative Archive

Would have saved me a lot off work, but I didn't have a computer in the 1950's! Nor, for another 40 years.

73,
Rick

 

[LoboGunLeather]

I was the youngest of 3 boys. I remember evenings after supper sitting at the table as Dad worked through lessons in arithmetic, spelling, and reading with my brothers.

Dad was a regular consumer of Perry Mason mystery novels and all the western shoot-em-up paperbacks (Louis L'Amour especially). I think Dad subscribed for everything the publishers churned out by his favorite authors during the 1950s.

I was reading by the time I was in kindergarten and going through my dad's paperback novels by second grade or so. Still reading at least 2 or 3 books every week, and if it is really good I will go cover-to-cover without putting it down. Dozens of my favorites on the shelves, and I enjoy them again and again, like old friends at times.

 

[Bald1]

I'm not quit old enough to have read the books but I can remember in the 70s and early80s watching Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mystery's on tv.

 

[xfarfuldog]

Growing up in the sixties, I don't remember ever seeing these books. I went straight from comic books to N3 Killmaster series. Maybe that says something disturbing about me ???

 

[ISCS Yoda]

My brother and I used to borrow Hardy Boy mysteries from our best friend and we would lend him Bomba the Jungle Boy books and Dave Dawson books.

Bomba was the Western Hemisphere's answer to Tarzan. Dave Dawson was just winning WW2 for us single handedly!

My question, to stay on topic, was where was this Hardy Boys adventure taking place where they could open carry handguns?

------------------------

I should note that before reading those books I was reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

 

[riverrat38]

They live in the fictional city of Bayport on Barmet Bay. The State is not mentioned, but might be New Jersey. This story was set in 1952, so things were quite a bit different then. If they did need a permit, their father could have made the arrangements. The location in this book was described as "out west".

73,
Rick

 

[1chessiefan]

Dear Gadshot,
I was a big Hardy Boys fan. I think my favorite involving firearms was The Mystery of Cabin Island. Frank, Joe and friends spent their Christmas vacation on the island. They took iceboats to travel there. They celebrated an early Christmas and Frank and Joe each received a 22 rifle as a Christmas present which they toted while exploring the island.

I read these books to my children when they were younger and they loved them also.

1chessiefan

 

[1chessiefan]

Dear IscsYoda,
I believe the one with open carry was The Mystery of Wildcat Hollow.

1chessiefan

 

[Greyman50]

Had a sizable collection of The Hardy Boys books back in late 50's- early 60's, read most couple of times. "Friend" at church wanted to read them so loaned him all of them, never to be seen again…..

 

[Jon651]

I never got into the Hardy Boys but rather got hooked on Heinlein, Asimov and that ilk instead! Been an voracious reader since my earliest school days and now keep a Kindle Paperwhite (or two or three...) within easy reach. With a Kindle Unlimited subscription I churn through several books a month - or sometimes several per week. Between that and all the free websites for eBooks, I always have two or three books ready to go.

A Kindle may not be for everyone, but it hooked me and I have never looked back!