In 1943, when my husband enlisted, I accepted an assistant agent task in Tarkio, Mo., on the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Rationing was in full swing and hard work was in order. I became custodian to a large depot and a billing agent. I also answered phones, collected packages, delivered Killed or Missing In Action telegrams and even learned Morse Code.
My second day on the job, a newspaper story said, “If a feminine voice answers at Western Union, don’t hang up, we have a new girl in town.” We rented an efficiency room across the street from the school where I had enrolled my 7 -year-old daughter.
It was a sad time when I left, but the war was over and the boys returned to their former jobs. Those 34 months were a joy. I’ll never forget the friends I made or the cold temperatures.
Glola M. Richardson
Grove, Okla.
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.
