My grandfather William Wayne Ratcliff, better known as Billy or Pappaw, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (cancer of plasma cells that eventually accumulate in the bone marrow) in 1996 but didn't start treatment until after his and my grandma's 50th wedding anniversary in 2004. After years of fighting the cancer with chemo, stem cell transplants, and a whole slew of other treatments, my Pappaw's immune system had taken a toll, and he passed away on April 12, 2011 from pneumonia. One of the few physical memories of my grandpa left was the house he grew up in that stood across the road from the home he and my grandmother built together for retirement around the same time he was diagnosed. This was true until a few months ago, when the house was demolished so that the land could be sold. Why this had to happen in a town full of empty land I haven't figured out, but I knew I wanted to take some portraits of my grandmother before everything was completely gone. (The shed where my great grandfather opened a feed store for Spurger Mercantile still stands with a sink that was originally in the house.) This was the home my great great grandpa built in the 1930's -- a cedar plank exterior with a tin roof and a porch all the way across the front. This was the home my Pappaw, his three brothers, mother and father moved into to keep his grandfather company when his grandmother passed away. This was the home where three more brothers were born. This was the home that 12 of my great great grandfather's children visited often with their families, with visits always made complete with cornbread biscuits and mayhaw jelly whipped up by Pappaw's mother. This was the home where my grandpa was without electricity until he was a freshman in high school. This was the home where my grandfather raised chickens and caught them in the coop late at night to be shipped to the market to sell. This was the home where my Pappaw and his family plowed, planted, and fertilized peas, tomatoes, corn, and squash to bring to town and sell at the farmers market. This was the home my Pappaw spent 17 years of his life, growing from a baby to a little boy helping around the property to a young man who went on to lead a life encouraging others with his shining, positive personality. Though the physical reminders are mostly gone, these are some of many things I want to remember. - CP My Pappaw | April 2010