The Civil War Centennial brings to mind a tale told by my aunt. During the war when Union soldiers were going from house to house taking horses, wagons and food from each family, my aunt’s father had put the food under the floor of the house and also in the gutters and in trenches. Then the father crawled under the floor, and the boards were put back by the oldest son. My aunt was only 5 years old, but she took her red rocker and sat on a rug over the boards. While the soldiers ate their meal, my aunt sat and rocked on the spot where her father was hiding. My aunt said she could remember the soldiers and the uniforms they wore.
She was 12 when Lincoln was assassinated. She said she was very sad when she saw the mourners’ car on the train going to the burial grounds.
Frances Shockey
Atchison, 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.
