I was born in 1932, and we lived on a farm. Mom had gone to Kansas City to find work, and she moved us into Polo, Mo., from the farm. We attended a one-room schoolhouse near Polo. The school building now sits in town, people now live in it. We walked to school most of the time. I remember the school supplies, nothing smelled like those Crayolas or the paste – Borden’s glue of today can’t hold a candle to the minty smell of the old paste. Our Big Chief tablets we thought were great, too.
Vera J. Eli
Kansas City, 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.
