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Outhouse Tips Over With Girl Inside

Sure I remember the old outhouse with its Sears Roebuck catalog, and the times I nearly froze to death in the winter or the times I kept a wary eye on a wasp in the summer.

At that time, no one had heard of a hay baler. All the hay was put up “loose” and either rope slings or a hay fork was used to get it into the haymow. The hay racks all had sides, and in the center front was a “standard” to help hold the hay, and on occasion to wrap the harness reins around.

A neighbor had one end of the clothesline fastened to the outside of the outhouse. The hired man drove the horses and rack through beside it and the standard caught the wire – and the building went over. That wouldn’t have been so bad except that a teenage daughter was “using the facility.” At that point in the tale, everyone dissolved into such gales of laughter that I can’t remember ever hearing how she was rescued.

How times have changed, and aren’t we GLAD!

Mrs. Thomas Butcher
Rockwell, Iowa


Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the then Capper’s Weekly asking for readers to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title – My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon – hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true tales from Capper’s readers, and we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.