When I was a young girl, I lived in the small town of Powell, Texas, and passenger train travel was common. The train came along the Cotton Belt Railway and stopped every evening at 11:45 p.m. That late night whistle meant a lot to me, not to mention my parents.
My parents were adamant that I had better be on the front porch by the time the train sounded its whistle, signaling the end of my date. At that time, I resented this rail monster dictating my curfew. But across the arc of time, what I would give to hear that train come rattling in just one more time.
The resounding rhythm of train wheels clicking in the darkness of the night always takes me back to my youth.
Faye Field
Longview, Texas
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.