It was 1967, I was 15 and bought a second-hand trainer (an Esquire possibly) with a Controlaire 10-channel reed set from the LHS. I remember reading the directions about tuning the reeds everyday before flying, seemed reasonable back then!
The owner offered to help me learn to fly it, so I met him at the club field one summer Sunday. He helped me get it fueled and started, and I hand-launched it while he handled the sticks, ... er, switches. It flew so well, it got caught in a thermal and wouldn't come down for several minutes. He was finally able to coax it away from the thermal and down to a gentle landing. I will never forget that flight, watching my bird circling in the blue sky overhead, nor the quiet, patient man who helped me discover flight. Pete remained my friend until he passed a couple years ago.