Ironically, I graduated high school in 1987, and never heard of the Oregon Trail game until I was well into my 30s, at least 15 years later. I'm not surprised as I went to a very substandardly equipped and financed school system in Florida. Heck, I thought luxuries such as guidance counselors, school nurses and swimming pools at a school were all created as a fiction for TV shows until
many years after I graduated!
These days, I live a very shot hop from the actual Oregon Trial and pass a marker for it often when chasing trains along the BNSF/UP/Amtrk main line through to the Puget Sound.
-Lee
Flickr photo set of my On30 layout