I have heard Uncle Tim tell many times that during the Civil War he was just a small boy. He was with his father in the top of the courthouse at Kirksville, Missouri, when the Rebels tried to capture that town. During the hot fighting, his father took the boy and slipped out to their team, climbed into the wagon and drove north of town, dodging bodies of dead fighting men on the way. After leaving the boy with some friends living north of Kirksville, the father returned to Kirksville and saw the Confederates driven off. That was what is known as the Battle of Kirksville.
Velma Partin
Unionville, 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.
