Long serving Jehovah Witnesses - pre 1975?

My dad and mom were always given old books from my uncle who is an elder, and I read those up. Man some were odd, and definitely promising a date for the end. A certain book with Babylon in the title was most intriguing. I liked the God's Word book though. It was cool and didn't teach that kind of stuff. The Greatest Man book is pretty decent too. Plus, I had access to a library I shouldn't have been allowed access to prolly. Well, anyway, the REALLY OLD books (1930s onward) promised certain dates sometimes. My dad is one of the people who is on the fence about it all and has disociated. But my uncle, and quite a few other family members, have stayed "in the truth" since 1950s onward.