It seems there was not much fighting in the home neighborhood during the Civil War, but raids were made to get horses and provisions, which was a common practice in time of war. The soldiers would come to the house, take meat from the smokehouse, also chickens and pigs, or anything they wanted, and then they would order the women on the farms to cook for them. At one place a soldier was carrying a skillet full of fat, and the housewife told him rather sharply not to spill any of it. He assured her he would not even think of doing such a thing, and then turned the skillet upside-down on the well-scrubbed floor.
At one place someone hid some money and valuable things under a plank near a spring. A soldier knelt down to drink, saw the treasure and took it away.
Another tale was told about a farm woman, who upon learning that soldiers were headed her way, took her horses out to the woods and hid them. She was so excited that she forgot where she had tied them, and even with the neighbors helping her, it took several days to find them.
Faye Melton
Lawton, 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.