On a bright, pure morning long ago, my father and mother, we five boys and our baby sister started to Nebraska from Iowa in a covered wagon.
We had not gone far when we came to a river that had overflowed its banks in a big way. We made it across the bridge all right, but on the other side there stretched out a great expanse of water. I remember I thought it looked like the ocean must look.
My father got a long stick for a cane and led the team feeling ahead each foot of the way. Dry ground was fully half a mile beyond. I remember how scared I was and what a relief we all felt when our wagon pulled out of the water at last.
C.A. Strawn
Parker, Washington
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.
