One of the great things about living on the farm is just about everyone had a root cellar which doubled as a tornado shelter. Basically it was made out of brick and cement with a dirt floor and it was covered with grass on top with a door much like the cellar in Wizard of Oz. Any time we had a big storm Dad and Mom would sit out on the porch watching the clouds to see if there was a tornado forming. Of course the challenge was that after dark you could not see a tornado. After dark Mom and Dad would listen for signs of a tornado. Basically what they were watching for was the wind would become more circular and changing plus before a tornado would come down the rains would change from falling to going somewhat sideways and it might even stop raining. The other thing that indicated one was close is the sound of the storm would be more like a train coming. There would be a roar rather than lightening and thunder. Now that I think about it when we thought a tornado was close the lightening and thunder was dissipate.
As a kid I was never particularly worried and what I really wanted to do was stand outside looking up into the storm like Dad and Mom. I always thought the clouds were really cool to watch but one time I got in big trouble with Dad. I said I wished I could see a tornado. I got a butt chewing for that one. Where we lived was on Beaver Creek which was down in the valley between some rolling hills and therefore we never did have a tornado set down close to our house although we saw some over head circling in the clouds. Back then we did not have all the technology to detect tornadoes or the threat of tornadoes so you had to rely on farmers and ranchers who could identify fingers or funnels forming in the clouds. I would have to say that I particularly enjoyed being on the plains and watching tornadoes in the distance dragging their tails across the wheat fields and tall grass prairies.
It was sad when you knew someone who lost their house or barns but I never did know anyone who lost a loved one from a tornado.
Back to the cellar. Besides being a tornado shelter this is where we stored all the food for the winter before freezers came into the picture. Just guessing from memory I would say the cellar was about seven foot wide and 12 to 14 foot long with two foot wide shelves all around. During a storm we would sit in folding chairs down the middle of the cellar. On the shelves we had about anything you could think of to eat. There was jelly made from sand plums we gathered across the creek from the house to blackberry jelly made from blackberries gathered down by Oolagah, OK where Grandma Annie and Popi Jess lived. We had pickled water melon rind, yes you can eat the green part, corn, green beans, yellow wax beans, peaches, apricots (Mom made the best apricot cobblers ever), canned okra, tomatoes and tomato juice, pickles (mom made the best sweet pickles and Sally Shumate knows how to make them), sweet and dill pickles, and lots more. The floor was was covered in hundreds of pounds of potatoes. During those storms we would just pile them out of the way and then spread them out after we left.
I did forget to mention the reason for the cellar is that being mostly below ground the temperature was always cool and constant, regardless of what the weather was outside. It was a great place to go sit during those really hot summer days as long as there were no visitors like bull snakes. But no worry as they did not bother you.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
As a kid I was never particularly worried and what I really wanted to do was stand outside looking up into the storm like Dad and Mom. I always thought the clouds were really cool to watch but one time I got in big trouble with Dad. I said I wished I could see a tornado. I got a butt chewing for that one. Where we lived was on Beaver Creek which was down in the valley between some rolling hills and therefore we never did have a tornado set down close to our house although we saw some over head circling in the clouds. Back then we did not have all the technology to detect tornadoes or the threat of tornadoes so you had to rely on farmers and ranchers who could identify fingers or funnels forming in the clouds. I would have to say that I particularly enjoyed being on the plains and watching tornadoes in the distance dragging their tails across the wheat fields and tall grass prairies.
It was sad when you knew someone who lost their house or barns but I never did know anyone who lost a loved one from a tornado.
Back to the cellar. Besides being a tornado shelter this is where we stored all the food for the winter before freezers came into the picture. Just guessing from memory I would say the cellar was about seven foot wide and 12 to 14 foot long with two foot wide shelves all around. During a storm we would sit in folding chairs down the middle of the cellar. On the shelves we had about anything you could think of to eat. There was jelly made from sand plums we gathered across the creek from the house to blackberry jelly made from blackberries gathered down by Oolagah, OK where Grandma Annie and Popi Jess lived. We had pickled water melon rind, yes you can eat the green part, corn, green beans, yellow wax beans, peaches, apricots (Mom made the best apricot cobblers ever), canned okra, tomatoes and tomato juice, pickles (mom made the best sweet pickles and Sally Shumate knows how to make them), sweet and dill pickles, and lots more. The floor was was covered in hundreds of pounds of potatoes. During those storms we would just pile them out of the way and then spread them out after we left.
I did forget to mention the reason for the cellar is that being mostly below ground the temperature was always cool and constant, regardless of what the weather was outside. It was a great place to go sit during those really hot summer days as long as there were no visitors like bull snakes. But no worry as they did not bother you.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
- Think ahead and get prepared as days will come when you will be glad you did
- Quality of life is a decision, you can stick your neck out of the cellar or you can keep it underground and not experience the good and bad of life.
- A teachable spirit can protect you from an emotional roller coaster or you can just let the tornado take control of your attitude
- Your choice and your fault
Thanks for listening,
gary@thepioneerman.com
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