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Sod House Home for Family and for Fleas

By Capper's Staff
Published on June 14, 2012

Long, thick buffalo grass was the floor in my grandparents’ sod house when they settled in Nebraska. This grass was the stomping and chewing ground for millions of fleas.

The sod house had a plain board roof covered with sod and clay, and two board doors with latch strings that were always out to friend and stranger alike.

One time when it rained and the roof leaked, my mother and her sister spent the night in the deep window seat, the only dry spot in the soddy. In the morning Grandmother fastened an oilcloth above the table to prevent the breakfast from being mixed with clay.

Marvel B. Beery
Bakersfield, Calif.


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.