Our blackboard on the south wall was not slate, but six or eight inch boards fitting tightly together painted black. Our large maps hung above the blackboard. When studying these maps the children knew top was north, and bottom was south, but the east coast of our country was toward the west, and the west coast line toward the east. Soon I learned maps should be on a north wall for less confusion!
Mrs. Gus Bergstrom
Griswold, Iowa
(Editor’s Note: Mrs. Bergstrom submitted this letter in 1979 to CAPPER’s, but passed away in September 1992. Permission to use this letter was given by Lloyd Bergstrom.)
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.
