We were of German descent, our grandparents having come over to Iowa from Germany. We young grandchildren didn’t speak any language other than English. Nor did most of the wives of my father’s brothers. We all felt thoroughly American, and there was no question about where our loyalties were during the Second World War, but my father warned my mother to keep her visits to town for groceries as few and brief as possible.
“Don’t stay around and talk to people, just go in, do your business and get right home,” he’d say.
She didn’t really seem to believe that anything would happen, but Daddy quit his Saturday night visits to town and stayed at home on the farm. Nobody wanted anything to happen, and no one was taking any chances.
Barbara Queen
Rosemead, California
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.
