My great-uncle had a house on low land near the Kansas River at Lawrence. Every time the river left its banks he was flooded out. Many times he lost heavily as crops were washed out and his house damaged. So one year when the river threatened, he carried all the furniture and household possessions to a cabin on higher ground which had never been touched by Kansas flood waters.
But this time the river cut a new channel; it washed away the cabin, the furniture – everything.
The house beside the river stayed safe and dry.
E. F. Stepanek
Cuba, Kansas
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.