Two letters written in 1863 by my husband’s uncle during the Civil War are treasured keepsakes. One is written at Camp Natchez, Mississippi, September 28, 1863; and the other at General Hospital, Ward No.2, Vicksburg, Mississippi, on December 29, 1863. He became ill and died at the age of 20 a few months before the end of the war. So many soldiers became ill because they did not have the food a sick person should have. Quoting from one of his letters:
“Potatoes are worth $4.00 a bushel, green apples 5 cents apiece, eggs are worth 90 cents a dozen, chickens a dollar apiece, milk 29 cents a quart, butter 90 cents a pound, and canned fruit still dearer, yet I might go on and mention a dozen different articles that sell at the same rate. Everything is dear here.”
Lois Decker
Concordia, 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.
