‘Starting out’: what could that 1st ‘upper class’ girl (not pictured here) have seen in working class gr. 9 me at that first church dance? Ironically, the only girl (from here) at my school’s 100th anniversary was the one beside me wearing a jumper skirt (note my de rigeur white socks, slim tie, and black Beatles jacket). We rode the bus on day 1 to U of W and that’s the last time I saw her for 50 years until the reunion.)
If you were a teenager you could start dating, especially around grade 9. Certainly, you would begin noticing the opposite sex by grade 7 and paying more attention to your looks, making yourself more presentable by then.
You normally did not begin dating or going steady till high school (grade 10 and up). Though in/by grade 9, you might start to pair up with someone of the opposite sex, hanging out as a duo or with friends. “Going steady” meant you were more serious and loyal to one another.
Sometimes, even in ’65-66, that might mean a girl wearing a guy’s (school) ring–something which was returned when “it was over”.. I can remember giving a Winnipeg girl in gr. 12 (1967) a Stetson hat which I had bought in Ottawa, but she refused to return it, claiming it as a trophy/memento no doubt.
Kissing, nuzzling, ‘necking’, and hugging were all ok and expected in these relationships. Petting was more common in high school, often increasing by grade level.
Curfews for dates were usually 10-11 pm though in special cases, 12 midnight was the absolute limit on weekend functions. (My mother definitely noticed my first post-midnight return after the first fall evening I spent with an ‘upper class’ girl at her riverbank house when we were both in grade 9.) Church dances with live bands were becoming common (even a Sunday one at a local Catholic church) and I went to my first ones in grade 9 (’64-’65) These were a place to ogle the opposite sex while listening to the music of the day and dancing.
Guys typically went to girls’ houses, sometimes meeting family members (siblings or mothers; fathers seldom or rarely). Sometimes the girl planned to have the boy over when no one else was home, which gave more freedom and privacy. I remember, in grade 12, an ‘upper class’ girl inviting me over to her place and being surprised when we had the run of the house all evening.
But in 1967, things began to loosen up in the Summer of Love (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a turning point in June of that year.) I can remember going with a gr. 12 girlfriend to a u dance and surprised at couples lying on top of each other in corners and everywhere on the floors; this was clearly a step up, freedom-wise, from high school. Things certainly changed in 1967 and definitely by the time one got to university (dances).