Grandmother Jennie lived in a covered wagon box with her two little boys while Grandfather Willie went with some other settlers to haul wood into the territory to trade for food with the Indians.
A neighbor had wanted their claim for a son not old enough to homestead for himself. He had threatened Grandma and told her he was going to scare her and the boys half to death some night so they would leave.
“Well, come right ahead, Mr. B,” Grandma said. “I have a gun and I know how to shoot!”
Each night until Will returned, she put a row of pie pans and other noisy kitchenware around the wagon bed to warn her if anyone tried to get in.
Mrs. Robert Williams
Winfield, Kan.
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.