Chickens in the Outhouse

During the war in 1944 we bought our first house out in the country. All we had was a shell of a house and an outhouse. 

A friend gave us a hen with twelve baby chickens, and the only place we had to keep them was in the outhouse.

One night a violent thunderstorm came up, the lightning and thunder was terrific and the wind blew a gale. I was looking out the window and saw the outhouse turn over.

I spoke to my husband tearfully, "The outhouse just blew over, all my baby chickens will drown."

We rushed out in our night clothes, and after lifting the heavy building, we found mama and babies still in their box just a little damp. They spent the rest of the night in the house with us. 

E.R. Raber
Benton, Arkansas

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.