On a perfectly clear day we could look to the northwest and see a black boiling cloud rising from the horizon. It looked very much like heavy smoke from a freight train. But our teacher was prepared. We all kept a small box of Rosebud salve and a white men’s handkerchief in our desks. The teacher would instruct us to put the salve around our nostrils and helped to tie the handkerchief around our faces. Then we would lay our heads on our arms on our desks.
Glenna Turner
Hardesty, Oklahoma
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.
