Women Who Pioneered Oklahoma Essay

The photos in Women Who Pioneered Oklahoma depict life in the early days of Oklahoma as something that most people today would not be able to tolerate. The early pioneers made the most the available resources. They used simple materials to build their homes: the land, canvas, poles, and sod. Since there was little access to timber, even the more prosperous families lived in tents made from shabby materials. Men and women alike survived with their skills, and some women even took on the role of the financial bearer in their family. Women took on hard work, as exemplified in the photo of the women collecting cow chips. In my opinion, life in the photos seems quite extreme. Entire families were crowded into a small tent or poorly constructed dugout, and fences were often necessary to keep out livestock. The stories gave more detailed images of the adversities that early pioneers faced in the Indian Territory. Wild animals plagued their houses, and unfavorable weather threatened their way of life. The water was unclean, droughts and prairie fires ruined their crops, and

The residential buildings and farmhouses were made quality materials such as pine and hardwood. In Women Who Pioneered Oklahoma, many of the interviewees stated that they lived in tents or dugouts, and people who had more money could afford log houses. In a book excerpt about rural houses in early Oklahoma, it was stated that early homes were poorly constructed, with framework kept to a minimum (Coling). Chimneys and kitchen stoves were easily assembled such that they could be quickly dismantled when the owner needed to relocate to a different place. Dwellings in Midwestern states were more similar to those in the Indian Territory, minimally constructed with cheap materials such as