When I was a boy (late 1960's), boys and girls receiving spankings at home, in school, at church, in public, was as commonplace as waking up in morning.
My family lived on a small ranch. My dad had a building out back (behind the house) that served as a barn, a woodshed, and a workshop. When my sisters and I misbehaved, our mom would punish our bare bottoms with her hairbrush. And, if our misbehavior was very naughty, we would have an appointment with our dad in the workshop after dinner (after he arrived home from his job in the city). Mom's hairbrush, and Dad's carpenter's ruler and/or razor strop, kept us on our best behavior most of the time!
When I was about 5 years old (my sisters were about 3, 12, & 15), our parents went out of the country for a year, and we stayed with our maternal grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa also had a small ranch. My sisters and I had been spanked at their house before, but only while visiting for a few days, and Grandma's hairbrush was the only correction that had ever been deemed necessary.
Living with Grandma and Grandpa for a year meant that appointments with Grandpa were inevitable. Grandpa had a barn and workshop, but they were several hundred yards away from the house. Grandpa administered discipline at the woodshed, just behind the house. But Grandpa's woodshed was not enclosed (there was only one wall and a roof to keep the firewood dry). Also, Grandpa was retired from ranching and always home throughout the day. So, an appointment with Grandpa was very much outdoors, and usually during broad daylight.
A trip to the woodshed meant undressing in the living room and walking out into the backyard totally naked. Grandpa had a razor strop hanging on a nail out at the woodshed, but he was also fond of thrashing naughty bottoms with a very stiff “hickory switch”. On those occasions when he felt that the switch was appropriate, we had to fetch our own switch (cut it from an apple tree in the backyard), while on our way to the woodshed.
Grandpa was a pastor, so Grandma and Grandpa frequently had visitors. Grandma had no problem with administering the hairbrush in front of other women from the church. Grandpa never intentionally administered discipline when visitors were present or expected – he would wait until later – but, I do remember one exception.
As a pastor, Grandpa often counseled his church members at home. On this particular occasion, Grandpa had told me in the late morning that I deserved a trip to the woodshed, but I would have to wait unti 2pm. At 2pm, a young couple showed up for counseling. Apparently, they couldn't agree on the best method of discipline for their 5 year old son. The mother was using her hairbrush, but she felt that her husband needed to handle the discipline sometimes, especially when the son was very disrespectful to the mother/wife. I remember my Grandpa saying, “Bobby disrespected my wife this morning. I will show you how I handle a naughty boy who disrespects his mother.” This young couple watched me undress, walk out into the backyard, fetch a switch (Grandpa helped because I was only 5.y.o.), bend over the wood plie, receive a dozen stripes across my bare butt, walk back into the house, and stand in the corner with my thrashed bottom on display. The husband/father agreed that, if his pastor recommended that his son needed “the rod of correction”, then he would become the head disciplinarian in his family. Needless to say, the wife/mother was VERY happy, and the 5.y.o. son was certainly very unhappy the next time he disrespected his mother!
I also remember an occasion when my 12.y.o. sister returned from the woodshed with a well-thrashed bottom and one of the church deacons had arrived while she was being punished. She was very embarrassed, but she was still required to stand in the corner while Grandpa and the deacon discussed church issues.
My sisters and I were spanked outdoors many times throughout that year. There was never an audience, except on that one occasion when I was used as an example of “proper Christian discipline”, and that one occasion when the deacon saw my sister arriving back in the house after her punishment. However, Grandpa's ranch house was only about a quarter of a mile from the ranch house next door, and there weren't any other houses nearby. So, it was usually VERY quiet, unless ranch equipment was being used nearby. The next door neighbor had three boys (3, 6, & 14), and I remember hearing the father's razor strop landing across his oldest son's butt, and his oldest son's howls and begs for mercy. They also had a woodshed that was only partially enclosed.