One day we had a real experience in anxiety – a bull in the schoolyard at our one-room schoolhouse. Everyone was afraid to go to the outhouse and we just wanted him to move on. The teacher went out and waved at him shouting “shoo!” He was annoyed by this and the teacher had to flee back into the school. After a few hours of our being intimidated one of the younger students looked out a window and said he believed the “daddy cow” was gone. The whole school was relieved to be able to go to the outhouses again.
One day a timber wolf came to visit. He stood a short distance away from the playground and quietly observed us – and we observed him. The teacher said he was a white dog but the older boys said “timber wolf” and we all knew they were right – the very long nose and the long bushy tail that did not wag did not signify a domesticated dog. Also our family dog had come over to the schoolyard and, with tail between his legs, was barking at the animal but keeping his distance.
Bertha Elizabeth Brennan
Kansas City, Kansas
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.
