Pie Town Woman: The Hard Life and Good Times of a New Mexico Homesteader

by Joan Myers

Pie Town, New Mexico, was immortalized in 1940 in the photographs of Russell Lee, who documented life in the high, dry farming community as part of the Farm Security Administration’s New Deal survey of American life. This book tells the story of one of the women photographed by Lee. Doris Caudill lived on a homestead with her husband and daughter, who was six years old when Lee made his famous photographs, many of which show Doris planting her garden, canning vegetables, and milking cows. Now, more than sixty years later, Joan Myers, herself a distinguished photographer, introduces us to the woman behind the pictures. Raised in West Texas, Doris first came to Pie Town on summer trips as a teenager. Faro Caudill courted her in Pie Town and brought her as a young bride to live in a dugout on a homestead in nearby Divide. Money was as scarce as water in this desert community, and a trip to Albuquerque, 180 miles away, was unimaginable. The Caudills went there only once while they lived in Pie Town, to buy a radio at Montgomery Ward. The nearest doctor was 60 miles from Pie Town, so babies were born at home and mothers had to be vigilant against accidents and snakebites. Although the Caudills and their neighbors lived in poverty that is hard for twenty-first-century Americans to imagine, Doris’s memories of those Great Depression days are the happiest of her life. She was a lively young woman in the 1930s, and her sense of fun and the pleasure that the people in the tiny community took in each other’s company more than made up for the hardships they endured. Joan Myers tells Doris’s story and recounts the experiences of Russell and Jean Lee during their stay in Pie Town. Woven through Myers’s narrative are her musings on the relationships among memory, photographs, and actual events. Included are a selection of Lee’s iconic photographs, Doris’s family snapshots, and photographs taken by Myers herself showing the visual residue of those bygone years.

215 pages, Hardcover

First published August 16, 2001

Reviews

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-written, passion-felt account of early 20th century life on the high desert plains. If you have been to Pietown, I am sure you’ve uttered some of my invectives, like “holy crap—look at this place!” I’d say this book would solely be for people who know Pietown, but that is not true. The people (Anglos) who pioneered this god-forsaken chunk of land were amazing and the description of their travails doesn’t get any better than this. Across the Rio to the east, this old guy I know self published a similar book “They Called Us Nesters” which is better because it isn’t penned by a ‘writer.’ Oh well, this is still fascinating stuff and good read. And to be fair, the land around Quemado and Pietown is stunningly beautiful so I really jest when I say it is ‘god-forsaken’ (even though it is).

[Wayne Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story about the real life homesteaders lived in the 30's. I have been to Pie Town numerous times and the pies there are really great, but one doesn't really grasp what life was like there simply by visiting what is now almost a ghost town. The book is insightful in pointing out how the photographs from the day were used as propaganda to create an illusion of successful homesteading, while all the time government programs were promoting large commercialized agriculture. These poor people should never have homesteaded along the continental Divide as the land has no topsoil and there is virtually no rain. New Mexico is a treasure trove of abandoned homesteads.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

You've probably seen the depression era photos by Russell Lee. Ever wondered about the people in the pictures? Russell Lee worked for the Farm Security Administration and decided to spend several weeks photographing Pie Town, New Mexico. Pie town was a tiny settlement of homesteaders near the western edge of the state. It also happens to be the home of some of my ancestors. They were homesteaders in New Mexico and the subject of this book, Doris Caudill, was a neighbor of my family. There are many pictures of Doris in the national archives, but this is her story and the story of many homesteaders and residents during the depression and post depression world. I absolutely loved reading about the real trials and triumphs of these people. I loved putting stories with the pictures.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting look at homesteading "off the grid, a tough life where bare essentials were all that mattered because they were all one had," written by a woman, through a woman's experiences. Pie Town is a small place in NM, and it's fun to stop there for pie, but now I know so much more about the area. Doris Caudill and Jean Lee, both " tended toward caution in the small decisions of life, but in the big ones, they followed their hearts and leaped." Such great role models for girls in our day and age.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good read for anyone interested in the people of pie town in the 1930's and 40's. The author did a great job telling the story with the recollections of Doris and her daughter Josie that include the feelings and emotions of the people who lived this bit of history. The pictures taken by Russell Lee, description of pictures show to the author by Doris Caudills and the authors own photos of the area compliment and enrich the history.

[Jim Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pie Town Woman is a beautifully written account of what life in Depression Era small town New Mexico was really like. And, for anyone interested in documentary photography, Pie Town Woman really gives a sense (in a backdoor sort of way) into how Russel Lee's thought processes may have been working during his time there.

[Jake GR · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating investigation into the frontier mentality of American culture during the Great Depression as illustrated by one woman’s life story. Russell Lee’s photographs frame the book well and the author’s photographs offer a somber conclusion to the story.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting history of small town NM. The life of a homesteader in the middle of a steppe desert was desolate and difficult. Yet, the simplicity of this life created family ties and friendships that were true and committed. I was surprised, maybe naively, to see how the Federal government used homesteaders of this ear to promote an appearance rural success. When life in Pie Town became to hard and families moved to cities for a sustainable living the change broke families and exposed character flaws not other wise expressed. I was thoroughly involved in this book.