I grew up in the 80's and the school in my town had a playground like this from when it was first built in the 60's (1960's, obv), but it didn't get much attention. In the mid-80's there was a "new" playground built that was mostly wooden with metal slides, poles, some tire pit thing and monkey bars that were 8' off the ground. Splinters were an every day occurrence, the slide would get hot enough to burn in spring and summer, and in the winter if you had a hole in your mittens, your hand would get stuck to anything metal.
But the thing that really terrifies me thinking back is the "cushion" they put down on the ground. These days it's all shredded foam rubber or wood chips so if you fall, you're not hitting anything sharp. This playground however had GRAVEL. And not just from when it was first installed, they trucked in fresh gravel every six months. Cut hands, torn pants and shirts with streaks of blood were common. God forbid if you got some in your shoe. And of course, kids would throw handfuls of rocks at each other, why not? The teachers on playground duty of course did nothing to discourage any of this. Probably why in a school of less than 200 kids, there were 3 nurses.
But the thing that really terrifies me thinking back is the "cushion" they put down on the ground. These days it's all shredded foam rubber or wood chips so if you fall, you're not hitting anything sharp. This playground however had GRAVEL. And not just from when it was first installed, they trucked in fresh gravel every six months. Cut hands, torn pants and shirts with streaks of blood were common. God forbid if you got some in your shoe. And of course, kids would throw handfuls of rocks at each other, why not? The teachers on playground duty of course did nothing to discourage any of this. Probably why in a school of less than 200 kids, there were 3 nurses.