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Attended a One-Room Schoolhouse In the 1930s

By Capper's Staff
Published on December 14, 2011

It was back in the early ’30s when I attended a one-room schoolhouse in the Midwest. We were a large family, 6 children in all. We walked to school a couple of miles each way. My folks were paid 30 cents per week per child because we walked to school. Because of this source of income we rarely missed school. In fact, I recall being carried to school in winter because of holes in my shoes. The income from the school kept us in groceries during the Depression.

Most of the lessons were learned by “rote”; there were few if any audiovisuals used for teaching but we all six have gotten a good education as we all have good jobs today and none of us have ever received any public assistance. In spite of the hardships, we still refer to those as “the good old days.”

Helen Croy
Yuba City, California


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.