We girls were discussing hair styles and unusual haircuts when my husband’s grandmother
spoke up and said, “I only had my hair cut once in my life.”
We all wanted to know when because
we couldn’t imagine Grandma with short hair. She told us it was back when she
was a little girl of 6 or 7. The settlers had been warned that an Indian party
was on the way.
“Our papa told us,” said
Grandma, “that if we girls had our hair short and ugly the Indians
wouldn’t be as likely to scalp us as they would if it was long and pretty. Then
he took his hunting knife and whacked off our long locks.”
Grandma went on to explain that the
alarm was a false one, but that she’d never forgotten the one time she’d had
short hair. Guess in those days a man’s hunting knife had lots of uses.
Bolivar, Missouri
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.
