A fun thing we did was to play in the barn, swinging from the top of the barn on hay ropes and dropping into the haystack below. One place we lived we had a barn with doors running through, so we would ride the horses, grab the rail and drop on the next horse. We rode Dad’s work horses bareback and this was our circus. (This was only when Mom and Dad went to town!)
Emilie Bird
Beatrice, Nebraska
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.