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Depression-Era Fun: Hopscotch, Marbles, and Hollyhock Dolls

By Capper's Staff
Published on March 12, 2012

Growing up during the depression era, I did many things with the neighbor kids. We played hopscotch, marbles, hide and seek, crack the whip, jump rope, roll the hoop, Andy Over and made hollyhock dolls and bracelets out of white clover blooms. We hung a blanket over the clothesline and put rocks on the corners to make a tent. Nobody had a bicycle but we did rollerskate. We went to the creek under the railroad bridge and fished, swam, caught crawdads and swung on the grapevines, sometimes falling in the water.

B. Alice Holtsclaw
Hamilton, Illinois


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.