In southeast Iowa, I taught in a one-room schoolhouse. There were 17 pupils, five grades.
Five of the pupils were from one family. They came by horse and buggy.
One morning, they came late, but only sat in the buggy and gazed into the sky. I went to know the reason and other pupils followed. The driver, the eldest boy, said, “Pa said it was an eagle. We’ve watched it all the way.”
A large bird was soaring in the distance. We were 2 miles from Skunk River. Eagles are rarely seen in Iowa. So we had a nature class that morning.
V.F. Brown
Niles, Michigan
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.