My father was an orphan living in the home of my grandfather. My mother was the 16-year-old daughter of the family. The two did their courting and dating around the fireplace in the evenings with the whole family present. One night Father wrote on a slate and asked Mother to marry him. She took the slate and wrote, “No.” But the next night she wrote on the slate that she would take back what she had said the night before.
The next year they were married. After the wedding supper was over and bedtime came, the women put the bride to bed. Then the men came in and put the groom to bed with her. The young folks tormented them and stayed in the room all night as a wedding prank.
They wouldn’t let the couple get up and dress, but neither would they leave the room. They brought food on trays and kept the couple constant company, singing, dancing and playing the fiddle right there in the bedroom. The young guests took turns going to another room to sleep, but would not let the bride and groom alone. This was 85 years ago.
Vida Ward
Miller, Mo.
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.