In our one-room schoolhouse, we opened school each morning with “The Lord’s Prayer,” then I usually read a few chapters from an interesting book, like Billy Whiskers or Dinsmore or Tom Swift.
Our favorite thing to do on Friday afternoon was to have a Spelling Bee or arithmetic contest with one of the neighborhood schools – at that time there was a school situated every two miles.
I do not remember school ever being “called off.” When the roads were full of snow the farmers put their horses on the wagon and went through the fields.
Thelma Williamson
Derby, Kansas
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.
