This is an incident that may sound fictitious, but actually happened.
Our close neighbor’s wife had been doing some dry cleaning with something similar to gasoline. When she had finished she poured the excess cleaning solution down one of the holes in the outhouse. Later, when her husband John went out, he lit up his pipe and threw his lighted match down the other hole. A terrible explosion followed, blowing the outhouse all to pieces and John landed out in the middle of the yard, with his clothing in embarrassing disarray. His wife, fearing the worst, called for my father for help, saying “Come quick, Floyd, come quick!”
When my father arrived very shortly, he helped John up on his feet and asked “What in the world happened to you John?” And John replied, “I don’t know Floyd, it must have been something I ate.”
Guy Davis
Indianola, Iowa
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.
