My father, Thomas Williams, served his time in the Navy during the Second World War. He was a Seabee, and was stationed in the South Pacific most of the time. I heard many war stories, but this one stuck with me.
My father heard about a beautiful waterfall while he was stationed in Australia. He wanted to see this, so he asked the other guys to go with him. They wouldn’t go along. Since he was more or less a loner, he went by himself.
To get to this waterfall he had to go up a very steep hill. It was so steep, he had to get down on his hands and knees to work himself to the top.
Now he could see over the crest of the hill. There stood an Australian native: paint, feathers and all. Daddy couldn’t stay where he was, so he moved to where he could stand. Now he was thinking “aborigine.” He was never so scared in his life. He just stood and looked at the native. All kinds of things were going through his mind.
The native looked at him, and with his Limey accent said, “Good day, sir.”
Dorothy Williams
Hamburg, Pennsylvania
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.
