Caves and Cellars

"It was the most wonderful life you could think of," says Alice Raupe McCorkle of her life in rural Oklahoma during the twenties and thirties. In addition to rising at 4 a.m. to begin her day as a farm wife, she was mother, seamstress, school cook, woodcutter, etc. During a time without the man-made conveniences of electricity and running water but with a host of natural disasters such as drought, wildfire, tornadoes, heat, and starving winters, her spirit represents the pioneers´ hope, dignity, strength, self-reliance, pragmatism, and compassion. And the caves and cellars that the pioneers left behind symbolize their legacy of survival, endurance, and partnership with the earth.>/P> Ruth Raupe´s photographs of the caves and cellars, spacious skies, weathered wooden homes and barns, and sod houses stand as silent tributes to these early years on Oklahoma´s farms. Her research and anecdotes breathe life into history when she traces one stonemason´s artistry, recounts a young wife´s crushing sense of isolation, and conjures up the joy of summer expressed in homemade vanilla, strawberry, and peach ice cream at community baseball games.