Our covered wagon rolled into Oklahoma Territory when I was two years old. My parents homesteaded a claim on a sandy 160 acres.
For seven years our home was a 12- by 16-foot half dugout. For five of those years we had a wall-to-wall dirt floor, and I remember my brother and I celebrating the completion of our new board floor. We ran back and forth and clapped our hands until the rest of the family got into the act. Dad hugged Mother, and she cried tears of joy. Then they thanked the Lord for our good fortune.
Is it any wonder that I remember?
Mrs. Bobbie L. Kennard
Sulphur Springs, Arkansas
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.
