Forty years ago, a "date" was a trip to the soda shop, a movie, lunch.
The big question then was one of if a girl should kiss a guy goodnight on the first date (and then only if she really, really, liked the guy) or would he think her 'loose'.
Now a "date" is a hookup and wanton, torrid sex.
Never view the past through the lens of today's usage.
And women were taught to set their cap for a man with means - a man already proven with property and prospects.
I talked with my mother a bit about this today, and while she thought 32 seemed a bit old to be chasing high school girls, she did suggest that it was likely that was all that was available to him - Women did indeed get married soon after high-school and set about homemaking and child rearing, so there would be mighty slim pickins much older than 22...
It is funny how the perspective is different - I had talked to my father about his teen years growing up in the 50's And he intimated that it was much like in my day, all the young bucks looking to party and get laid... The difference being that there were very few party girls and the choice was among that handful, or pay for professional services.
The way he saw things, the vast majority of women did indeed wait for marriage, and would never be swayed without that ring.
In that day, there were two kinds, and only one was the kind you'd bring home to mamma. Mostly the same in my day - only the 'bring home to mamma' kind were fewer and farther between... Nowadays -
