” Awake!” The wren sings on my family farm, “The sun is shining! No rain! No rain today!”
Hurry! Dress. Help! Where’s my dentures? The search is on. Thirty-one minutes wasted. Found! But where’s my shoe? Lost again? Maybe it’s downstairs? That darling puppy? Maybe it’s by the back door under the tree? Breakfast: Cereal, eggs, bacon, toast, fruit juice, coffee? Why bother?
The sun is shining! The wood needs splitting! Get the key! Start the tractor! Attach the splitter! Drive to the woodpile. Roll or lift a tough block on the platform. Push the forward lever. Presto. That oak knot is ready for winter!
Repeat the maneuver over and over.
Thank God somebody invented this Wood Splitter!
Lucille Stanek Jenkins
Jackson, Michigan
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.
