7/7/16 Caddo Mounds Grass House Project by Andrew D. Brosig
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Phil Cross, left, and Jeff Williams inspect the exterior of the traditional Caddo grass home being built Wednesday at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site west of Alto. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Jeff Williams, left, and Chad Earles plan out the days activities before continuing applying bundles of switchgrass thatch Wednesday at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site near Alto. Earles, from Oklahoma City, is apprenticed to Caddo elder Phil Cross, learning how to build the traditional grass structures. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
The intricate superstructure, a mix of vertical loblolly pine poles and willow braces, reaches toward the sky as another grass house project day begins Wednesday at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site near Alto. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
The crew stacks bundles of dried switchgrass for use as thatch on the grass house project Wednesday at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site near Alto. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
The crew stacks bundles of dried switchgrass for use as thatch on the grass house project Wednesday at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site near Alto. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
The crew stacks bundles of dried switchgrass for use as thatch on the grass house project Wednesday at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site near Alto. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Phil Cross, 74, a Caddo elder from Anadarko, Okla., talks about the grass house build project Wednesday at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site west of Alto. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Phil Cross, 74, brings in another bundle of switchgrass thatch for the wall on the grass house build project Wednesday at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site west of Alto. Cross, a Caddo elder from Anadarko, Okla., is the last person who knows how the grass houses were built and is sharing that knowledge with the volunteer crew working at the historic site. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
The crew stacks bundles of dried switchgrass for use as thatch on the grass house project Wednesday at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site near Alto. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
The crew stacks bundles of dried switchgrass for use as thatch on the grass house project Wednesday at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site near Alto. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph
Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph