Was the society as strict as it is today?
Did you feel proud to be a JW back then?
Were the brothers more loving in those days?
Just wanted to hear some experiences to compare with the way things are today
My perception is one of a child (I was a child in the 70s), so I'm not sure how accurate it is.
Also, even at a tender age I did notice a difference in culture between congregations I was in a downtown congregation since I was born and then moved to a rural area when I was about 9. The culture was different, the way JWs got along with each other was different too. The second congregation was more family oriented as there were about 6 or 7 large families.
We were treated like crap. In every meeting there was some kind of information about how bad we are and how Jehovah will kill us if we do this or that, From the platform here was always somebody addressing something very specific about some event in our school, and there was always some idiot who had a problem with any of his children attending, so it was always "wordly" and JWs cannot attend.
The elders in the congregation didn't like each other and refused to have their children socialize with other children. Personally I didn't like the attitude of some of them, especially the older ones. The feeling seemed mutual.
The gossiping was insane! People were so much into each other's business to a point that I as a child even noticed.
Then my father seemed to be the only one stating that the end was not coming in 1975. He became unpopular for doing so in the congregation. One of the elders quit his job in 1975, and became a pioneer in October (in spite of having to support his 13 children). He also trained himself to eat leaves for when the great tribulation arrives. Some people sold their houses.
Another elder was some kind of stalker and was constantly following people he became obsessed with.
Pioneering was a lot more hours a month. They used to call it "temporary pioneering" when a JW decided to dedicate a month to pioneering. The requirement was 100 hours of house to house preaching. Later there was a "major" announcement, you know, one of those events when they mislead people to believe that they are going to say something that will change life as we know it, to change the requirement to 60 hours.
The visits of the CO were a major event. They were received as semi-gods. People were very competitive over hosting the CO for lunch, but only on the Sunday, his last day. People were recommended and named elders and for other "privileges" based on how they came across. There was this one moron who knew nothing about anything, that became an elder. It was a horrendous experience. Seeing them talking out of his butt, incoherently, without making sense, and always over the allotted time, was just painful. But, he was an elder, and he was "appointed by Jehovah", so people just took it.
The assemblies were very complicated in terms of all the work involved. The decorations in the stadiums were very flowery, the food they prepared was cooked and it was an entire menu. The cheesy dramas were as complicated as they were inappropriate for children (they really don't give a fuck about children). They were also longer in duration.
To those younger, the way they started talking about "the dangers of the Internet" when it became mainstream, they also attacked TV. They were always criticizing and attacking anything that was popular on TV, regardless of the content.
People who were creative or had a mind on their own, or ask questions were shamed for doing or being so. Some were physically punished (beaten) by their parents for expressing interest in higher education or in a hobby.
Preaching in a rural area was fun because I got to ride my bike. Living communities are spread out, so when I didn't get to use my bike (actually, not mine, I'd borrow one; my parents thought that bikes were evil), I liked when we had to go to farther territories because that meant less time doing house to house work.
There was a gestapo-like attitude around finding out if anyone in the congregation was doing something that is considered an offense. People were not close to each other and there was no trust. When something about someone was found out, every single person knew about it and more, as gossip always has the tendency of growing in the exaggeration direction. When a person was disfellowshipped, they used to say for what exactly over the platform.
And that's how they expected me to like being a JW.