Agreed with additional notes. We were all in the same boat.
When I first started A&M Hurricane Carla had just wrecked Galveston and Houston, etc., and we at fish camp in Palestine Methodist Assembly Campground were detained several days until the dorms were cleared of refugees. Then, we had the privilege of cleaning up their messes left behind. It seemed to rain every day until Thanksgiving. Keeping a uniform decent and avoiding blisters with new shoes in the wet was a major issue.
As I recall the only buildings that had A/C were the MSC, the All-Faiths Chapel, The Coke Building, and the first floor of the Academic Building. There was a lot of loitering in those areas to get a bit of cool air. Sometimes mail check occurred several times during the day in the MSC as a result... After Carla the clay soil under the All-Faiths Chapel swelled so much the floor cracked and much of the building was off-limits until it was repaired. One of the ways a fish could get out of CQ was to have some religious activity at a local church or synagogue. As a result we were a lot more religious during those years...
An interesting thing that I recall was a kid from NY who had attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute PREP thought he had all the answers and generally made a nuisance of himself and upset his fish peers to the extent that they took his clothes and belongings and gave them all a "shower" and then tossed them out into to quad for him to retrieve at will. This happened in F-1. It was the most obvious "highway 6 runs both ways" I ever observed. He soon left the campus never to be seen again.
On the other hand, I also observed same outfit a kid from Brooklyn - Shelley Minckon, overweight, Jewish, heavy horn rimmed glasses, mop of heavily greased hair (soon cut off...), (room mate was a cowboy from San Saba) - who took to Corps life with gusto, lost a bunch of weight by Christmas break, went home with boots and hat and big belt buckle, etc., and claimed his folks did not recognize him when they picked him up for the holidays. His unit helped him because he helped himself.
Same outfit had a kid named Orelle MacDaniel who simply could not march without "bouncing". He had a physical impairment but was determined to be in the Corps because he was legacy and his family expected it and he wanted it. In spite of the fact his marching invariably made his unit lose grading points at march-ins, because he was so determined - again, his unit supported him and helped him in every way they could. If not for him, F-1 probably would have won General Moore that year.
Athletes in Hart, Law, Puryear, and Henderson had to be in the Corps, but were not required to wear their uniforms daily and were obvious in their jeans, tee-shirts and flip-flops during the week not having to meet formations. But, when they had bull-text they too had to conform with uniforms, etc. This requirement was a big problem for recruiting that went away when the Corps became non-compulsory.
Since I attended off and on from 1961-1973 I also witnessed the changes that occurred during that time frame. Non-regs who were Corps capable sometimes were pretty critical of the Corps and that they did not have to participate. Conversely, people in the Corps often resented the non-regs who they believed should be in the Corps with them. This adversarial relationship sometimes was a problem internal to the campus - but when away, like a family, all converged to support and defend A&M.
It was a Sophomore privilege to have a car on campus even though their lot was furthest from the dorms. If a fish had a car there had to be a reason. Some parked off campus. "Whipping out" was mandatory and if you happened to meet someone from your home town they would likely "drop handles" and often befriend you and keep you out of some details. My best "drop handle" was from Senior Ronnie Moon, who was the combined band drum major. We both attended Horace Mann Jr Hi and Palo Duro Sr Hi in Amarillo.
It was a miserable fall because of Carls! ...and the football team only won 4 games in Jim Meyers last year. It got worse with Foldberg only winning 1 game in 1964. Then Gene Stallings took over but was very inexperienced at the time. Eventually, he followed Bear Bryant to Alabama and won a national championship for them. Meanwhile A&M was on probation for Bear Bryant's antics at Junction where he took scholarships away from kids who failed or left after which the NCAA changed the way Spring Practice, summer workouts, contacts with coaches off season, amount of practice before fall games kicked off, etc. in both college and high school. It was a very difficult issue to recruit top players to A&M during those years after Bryant left because of the probation, the isolation, the Corps requirement, not being co-ed, etc.
"Legacy" was a HUGE deal for not only normal students but also athletes!! ... and often was the main reason many attended A&M. However, the drop-out rate was abysmal - especially the first semester/year for many because of the Corps, the difficult classes, the isolation, and the weather being so humid and oppressive without A/C. Just far enough from the coast to get very few breezes and still get the stifling heat. When many classmates from high school were living it up and being "Greek" on other campuses, it took a lot of "grit" to stick it out at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. For those that remained - it didn't matter if you came from a wealthy background - or poor - those who stuck it out became "Aggies" and were better for it - all having endured the same hardships and eureka moments to survive and graduate. And these are the core of why A&M is so special... and why it grieves me to see such petty PC nonsense from the vocal few upsetting the traditions that came so special to so many of us over such things as whether or not Sully belongs - or not...
Game Day Pre-game march-in to Kyle Field and watching the Corps perform before and during half time was very VERY exciting. College Station was "dry" and no one even thought of "tailgating". At games, everyone not in the Corps dressed in slacks, polished shoes, often a tie and coat depending on temperature and always got their date - who wore dresses to the games - a corsage. There weren't many motels so there was a lot of bed and breakfast opportunities all over Bryan and College Station for out of town dates.
And, the 2 Corps trips every year alternately to Austin, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth (...and Baton Rouge lol), were also special - being put up by buddies from the town if you didn't live there, etc. It was a great relief and break from the everyday on campus requirements.
Silver Taps did not happen often. Before major holidays "Code 10" movies (car wreck movies from Ohio Highway Patrol...) were shown in Guion Hall (a tragedy that it was demolished!!) in a mandatory formation to encourage safe driving. But when a Silver Taps did occur, it was lights out in all dorms/buildings except street lights and everyone straggled to the front of the Academic Building for the service. Quizzes were discouraged the following day but sometimes profs did not cooperate... The longest trip I ever had from A&M to Amarillo (540 mi) was after a Code 10 session and it took 13 hours. I was determined to get my own car and never EVER have to endure another 50 MPH trip like that. Typically, I made the same trip in 8- 8 1/2 hours.