We were poor (didn’t know it at the time), and I’m of a large family, oldest daughter of a family of six girls and five boys. We didn’t buy boxed cereal, we used oatmeal and mother would grind up the leftover biscuits, put them in the oven and brown them good. This way we made homemade cereal – and a sprinkle of cinnamon helped. We made our own kraut (sauerkraut), hominy, lye soap. To get the Capper’s Weekly we usually traded a few old hens for it.
Dessie Pinkley
Elkland, Missouri
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.
