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The Harmon’s Pie Town Restaurant. Photograph © by Russell Lee, image courtesy of John and Sue Bunton.
Pie Town, New Mexico Quilt
by Marian Ann J. Montgomery, Ph.D.
Curator of Clothing and Textiles, Museum of Texas Tech University
Pie Town is a small town in western New Mexico that was on the road taken by many who were escaping the Dust Bowl on their way to California during the Depression. Pie Town and its people were photographed in 1940 by Russell Lee, a photographer for the Farm Security Administration of the United States Government during the Great Depression.
One of the founding settlers of Pie Town was Harmon L. Craig, who moved there in the 1920s. He met his wife, Theora, when she brought food from town to feed hungry cowboys who were working a roundup for one of the ranchers. She had been cooking and doing laundry in the Hall Hotel in nearby Magdalena. Theora had been abandoned by her first husband, who left her and their two daughters when he fell on hard times in business. After their marriage on July 29, 1924, Mr. Craig brought his family to live in a log home he had built in Pie Town. Shortly thereafter, a small addition (which served as a café), was built onto the house. While Theora was busy managing the café, H.L. focused on building other businesses in town.
Harmon L and Theora Craig on their porch. Image courtesy of John and Sue Bunton.
The family states that interviews with New Mexico residents at the time document that the pies, cakes and cookies offered at the café were famous for a hundred miles. Cowboys on long cattle drives began to plan routes to include a stop for a rest in Pie Town just so they could have a slice of pie and a cup of coffee.
Although others have claimed the title, Theora’s descendants claim she was the original Pie Lady of Pie Town. H.L. Craig was instrumental in the development of Pie Town, often interviewing people driving through who were escaping the Dust Bowl. If he liked the person’s work ethic, H.L. would offer to help them get started, with the understanding that they would settle in Pie Town.
The images of Pie Town taken by Russell Lee document the hard life and determined spirits of its residents. Many were photographed wearing garments made of printed cotton feed sacks; those images were included in the museum’s recent exhibit on feed sacks.
Harmon L. and Theora Craig in their Pie Town, New Mexico home, where the quilt was used. Photograph © by Russell Lee, image courtesy of John and Sue Bunton.
The family says that Theora loved her garden more than quilting, but she left behind a beautiful charm quilt made to keep her family warm. Typical of many quilts made at this time, this one employed a wide variety of scrap fabrics cut into large hexagon shapes.
Charm Quilt made by Theora McDonald Baum Craig (b. 1887, m. 1907, m. 1924, d. 1980) Mrs. Harmon L.)
circa 1940 in Pie Town, NM. Gift of John and Sue Bunton, 2020-009-001.
Image © the Museum of Texas Tech University.
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