Cherished Paper Dolls
I read the paper doll article in CAPPER’S (Looking Back, “Gift Opened New Worlds,” September/October 2009) and thought giving Betsy McCall paper dolls as a Halloween treat was a great idea.
I was born in 1928, so the paper dolls I collected came from the funny paper and consisted of the Dionne quintuplets, Shirley Temple, and characters from “Gone with the Wind.” However, I did collect Betsy McCall paper dolls for my daughters, and my husband made the Betsy McCall doll house for them. Talk about being thrilled.
Unfortunately, the doll house got lost in the shuffle when we moved our family across the country, but the girls sure enjoyed it while they had it.
Dorothy Seager – Rodney, Michigan
We’re glad you enjoyed the article, Dorothy. It’s always nice to read about days gone by, and the story brought back some great memories for our staff as well. – Editors
Easier to Handle
CAPPER’S has been a part of my family for many years, not just as a child, but also as an adult. I’ve subscribed to it for a good number of years.
I just wanted to say thanks for such a great magazine. I must say the new look of CAPPER’S gave me quite a shock when I saw the July/August 2009 issue, but after getting used to it, I love it.
I’m 89 years old, and the new size makes it much easier to handle.
Maxine Potter – Republic, Missouri
Thank you, Maxine, for giving the new format a chance. We’re glad to know you’re happy with the change. – Editors
It’s a Small World
While reading the stories about influential teachers and classmates in the Heart of the Home section of the September/October 2009 issue of CAPPER’S, I came across a letter telling of the many teachers Maxine, from Exira, Iowa, had.
Much to my surprise, the first teacher she mentioned was Minnie Wild. My heart skipped a little beat. I personally knew Minnie, and she was indeed a very nice woman.
In 1932, my mother, father, brother and I moved to Atlantic, Iowa, to live with my mother’s folks. They weren’t her biological parents, and they didn’t adopt her, but they raised her from the time she was 10, so to her, they were her folks.
After we moved in, I met Minnie Wild. She maintained a room with my mother’s family when she came to Atlantic to stay, when she wasn’t teaching school. I remember her as having taught in the town of Anita, just east of Atlantic.
The World’s Fair was held in Chicago in 1933-1934. Because of her interest in good cursive writing, Minnie had gone to the fair, and I’m sure she visited the Palmer Method of Handwriting booth. She brought back a beautiful pink pen with a pen point for me, and I was always proud of that pen.
I always say, one never knows when you may come upon someone who knew someone you knew or someone who is somehow related to someone you might have known. Someone once said, “It’s a small world, after all,” and I, for one, certainly agree.
Evelyn Cain – Kansas City, Kansas
What a surprise reading that story must have been for you, Evelyn. It really is a small world, and we’re glad we could spark that nice memory. – Editors
New and Improved
We wanted to make a comment about CAPPER’S new format. We like it very much. In fact, we think it’s a great improvement.
However, we do have one objection: not having a fiction story in each issue. The short story is the reason we first began subscribing to CAPPER’S.
You said in the September/October 2009 issue in Open Session that short stories were hard to find. Can you run longer stories and spread them between several issues like you used to? What we used to do when the stories were long was keep all the issues together until we had the whole story, then we would read it.
Thank you for a good publication, and please include the short stories again, if at all possible.
Zane Render – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Zane, we’re glad you like the new format and think it’s an improvement. While it was difficult to find short stories, it was even more difficult to find stories that were appropriate for CAPPER’S. We hope you continue to enjoy the magazine, and for some great reading, check out our featured books, which include fiction stories, on Page 55 of this issue, or on our website www.Cappers.com. – Editors
Keep It Coming
I received the past two issues of CAPPER’S, and I love it in its new format.
I have read CAPPER’S for many years. My folks lived on a farm, and I can remember Mother trading a fat hen for a subscription to the paper. My brothers and I always got our current events for school out of CAPPER’S. I think it was 1922, or somewhere around that time, that my folks started taking CAPPER’S.
When Mother passed away, I continued her subscription.
I lived on a farm for 50 years before moving to town, but I still enjoy every aspect of farming. I’m 95 years old, and I have been taking CAPPER’S for a very long time. It’s a good, clean publication, and I hope you keep publishing it.
Arline Soukup – Ellsworth, Kansas
Thanks for your letter, Arline. It’s always nice to hear from folks who grew up with CAPPER’S. I’m sure you’ve seen CAPPER’Smake many transitions over the years, and we thank you for giving the latest change a chance. – Editors
Delighted Reader
I am delighted with everything about the new CAPPER’S.
There are no more lost, torn or frayed pages, and now that it’s bimonthly, I have ample time to read the issue thoroughly before the next one arrives.
The first issue of the newly designed CAPPER’S did come as a surprise to me, because I had not yet read the announcement in my June 2009 issue.
Over the years, I’ve seen CAPPER’S, make many changes, but the biggest was when it was announced that the articles could now be found on the CAPPER’S website. I knew nothing about computers, and I feared that my favorite little paper would become too sophisticated for me.
Eventually I learned to appreciate the computer, and now, if the mail is late with my CAPPER’S, I go online for a preview.
I am pleased to see that most of the original content has been incorporated into the new format. All my favorite things are still there – Open Session, Reader to Reader, and the letters from readers who share their experiences and stories in Heart of the Home.
While I do feel a tinge of nostalgia for the newspaper-style magazine CAPPER’S used to be, in my opinion, improvement outweighs sentimentality.
Irene Kyker – Philadelphia, Tennessee
We’re glad you’re enjoying the newly designed CAPPER’S, Irene. Change is inevitable, and we thank you for being so supportive. – Editors
Share your thoughts
CAPPER’S welcomes letters from our readers. If you would like to comment on an article or share your opinions, send a letter (with
high-quality photographs, if available, no photocopies, please; send an appropriate-sized self-addressed stamped envelope with adequate postage for return of photos) to CAPPER’S, Open Session, 1503 S.W. 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609-1265, or e-mail us at
editor@Cappers.com (if sending photos, please send jpeg or tiff, at least 300 dpi).
