Over 100 years ago, so the story
goes, my great-grandparents traveled from the East to an Iowa homestead. A new child, the
sixth, was expected soon, and when the family came to the last town before
their destination, it was thought wise for Great-grandmother to remain there
until after the birth. She agreed.
But after the rest of the family
had gone, this pioneer woman decided it would be more fitting for the child to
be born on their own land. She literally hitched a ride with a family traveling
westward and completed the long trip lying on the floor of a lumber wagon.
And so my grandmother was born at
home, in the chilly dawn of an August rainstorm, in a leaky covered wagon. She
was the first white child born in Bremer
County, Iowa.
Mrs. George
Wessendorf
Storm Lake, Iowa
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.
