Before the shelter half...there were these. When I was a kid, every single yard had a clothes line. And almost every summer night, we slung a sheet over those very same clothes lines...and we were transported back to the old West, or out on Safari.
If the wind was blowing, well, more clothes pins. In the morning, well, shake off the crumbs from the sheet you used for your floor, then take the Tent Sheet down, shake off the ants and spiders...and off you went for the day.
So imagine my surprise when I join the Army ...and we got shelter halves, but no clothes pins. And to this day, I think those summer tents (sometimes made with an old tarp instead of sheets) were better than shelter halves.