Under the flowers and inside the hill is a cinder blocked storm shelter. As a child, I hated that small room. There were always spiderwebs in the corners and I couldn’t understand why anyone kept canned goods stored under the benches that lined the three solid brick walls. I only remember being rushed to that room when it was dark and frightening outside. Frequently there would be strangers from other houses taking shelter in there with us. Well, strangers to me. The adults would casually chat and ignore the howling winds while I closed my eyes and tried to pretend I was anywhere but there. As much as I hated it then, I long for the comfort of a safe place in a storm now. One of the best things Doug ever did to this house was the completion of a walk-in closet in the basement bedroom.
My grandparents had one of those, too. They lived in Jamestown, TN. I was fascinated with ‘the cellar’, but I never actually wanted to go inside it.
Only one time did I ever get whisked off to the cellar and we had to spend the night down there. I was terrified of bugs crawling on me!
The fun part was playing on top of the cellar. The ‘roof’ of it was in the back yard and was cement. I would play house there, arranging all my toys and stuff imagining elaborate storylines with my dolls and imaginary friends.
Great memories. I miss Tennessee. We visited my grandparents there at least 10 times a year. We’d leave Friday afternoon when my Dad got off work and come home on Sunday. Some of my greatest memories involve TN. If I were to ever move away from IN, it would be straight to TN for me.
If you look at the top left corner of the hill you can see one corner of the cement roof. The cellar is halfway between what was my grandparents’ house and what was my great-grandparents’ house. We did the Friday-Sunday all the time, too. In the summer the grandchildren stayed there for a week and we always came home to clean, organized bedrooms. I liked to play up there too. I think rural TN is pretty similar all across the state.
I see it! Even though this post has nothing to do with me, thanks for writing it and bringing back so many memories!
2 COMMENTS:
1) Hey! There’s a place you and D never locked me!
2) WHEN I move from IN, it’s straight to TN.