The Root Cellar

"Don't walk across the top of the cellar".  My dad's words still echo in my head whenever I think about the old root cellar in the side of the hill behind our house. When I was growing up, I thought it was just something we were not allowed to do, but never really thought about the fact that it was for our own safety. As a child, I was afraid to go inside. The very thought conjured up images of a dark, damp place, that was probably haunted and crawling with spiders. Dad had nothing to worry about if he thought I might get too close to a cellar.  Some of the old structures were ready to collaspse, and he was simply protecting us.

Root cellars were dug out of the side of a hill, and were supported inside with wood beams. Rocks and sods were used to frame a wooden door. Sods were then laid across the top outside to provide extra insulation during the cold weather in winter, and the heat of summer. This underground storage facility naturally provided an ideal temperature, and humidity control. Saw dust was often used to cover and protect the crops. The cellar was used mainly to store vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots and turnip,  and at times, for storage of preserves and meats as well.

Looking back, I can appreciate how important cellars were to the families who built them. I remember how hard my grandparents worked, cutting up potatoes for seed, and the many long days they spent in the garden planting and weeding. My grandfather would walk for miles pushing a wheelbarrow filled with caplin to use as fertilizer,  and then spread them neatly between the rows in the garden. We grew many varieties of vegetables, and everyone took part in the harvest. The produce was kept in cold storage in the cellar, or cold-packed in mason jars, and provided food for the family year round. Nothing quite compares to the taste of vegetables from your own garden. It was as if you could taste the love and committment in every mouthful.

A few years ago I was taking a shortcut through the community where I grew up, and spotted an old root cellar. Ordinarily, I would never have taken my camera out in the rain, but that day, I jumped out of my car and took two shots. That picture will always remind me of the life I enjoyed so much growing up in rural Newfoundland. The photo is a way to pass on to my children the true meaning of perserverance and preservation. Root cellars are still very much an integral part of a way of life in some areas of Newfoundland and Labrador, to this very day.