FOLKSY COUNTRY GARDENS

Always looking for some folk gardens with a touch of class. Found these two unusual containers in a small country community garden. I have noticed these antique types popping up in gardens in the Midwest as well as the Northwest. I think they are becoming mini-traditional gardens in themselves. They sure leave room for innovation. 

Wild Queen Anne's Lace dancing in an old bedstead. They seem quite joyous placed in an antique iron bed. Gotta bring some smiles!

ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE TRADITION

ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE
October, 1940. Breathitt County, Kentucky.

Library of Congress, Farm Security Administration Photos

Mary Post Wolcott, Photographer

Tis the time for all young folks to parade back to school. There are different types of school choices today -- private, public or home schooling. 


Notice that none of these choices are the one room school house which used to dot our country's landscape during the latter part of the 19th century and into the earlier part of the 20th century. Primarily rural in nature -- they were located in the country and small towns. 

I have always appreciated the tradition of the one room school house. I thought it would be interesting to find some old photos of students attending one of these types of schools. Luckily the Library of Congress provided a couple from their archives.


As I am sure you know, the one room school usually held quite a few grades all taught in one room with one teacher. The usual school room scenario seemed to be first through eighth grade.

MOUNTAIN CHILDREN PLAYING
 MARBLES AFTER SCHOOL

October, 1940. Breathitt County, Kentucky.

Library of Congress, Farm Security Administration Photos

Mary Post Wolcott, Photographer

These schools had a traditional social culture where everyone knew each other and you didn't compete by wearing fashionable clothes. Children learned from the students as well as the teacher, and most students assisted those who needed help.

Also, you usually walked quite a distance to school, sometimes brought your homemade lunch in a tin lunch bucket  and got time off to help with work chores at home -- these activities would keep children healthy and strong.


It was a tight school community onto itself. It was self regulated in a sense.

Today young folks are attending large consolidated schools where they do not know all the teachers or other students. The idea of "school community" has become a loosely knit phrase.


My question is -- are we going in the right direction with our school culture today?

MARGARET'S HILLSIDE ROOT CELLAR -- BUILT 1971

FRONT VIEW OF MARGARET'S OLD ROOT CELLAR
MADISON COUNTY, KENTUCKY

Margaret's husband built the above concrete block root cellar in 1971 -- thirty-nine years ago when she was thirty-seven. Today, Margaret is seventy six and  no longer uses it. 


Our recent chat revealed that they once had a very large garden where they grew a wide variety of vegetables. She canned huge amounts of the harvest. One year she canned about 500 quarts of green beans. She gave lots of her vegetables away. Now she only grows a small patch of tomatoes as her husband helper passed a few years ago.


Some root cellars are inside houses, usually the basement. My mother had one in our basement that she called her fruit cellar. Maybe it is just a matter of semantics whether one calls the cellar -- fruit or root?

Most root cellars in the U.S. are built into sides of  hills. The idea of root cellars was born in 17th century Europe and traveled to the U.S. They became a traditional part of rural living. They are not used in great abundance anymore but still can be found in some country areas.

SIDE VIEW OF MARGARET'S HILLSIDE ROOT CELLAR

This particular cellar was built by Margaret's husband of cement block. He lined the walls with shelves to store the glass jars of canned goods. The floor space was saved to spread out  potatoes. It was kept chock full. 


The cooling and insulating properties of the surrounding ground preserve the freshness of the fruit and vegetables. 

CLOSE UP VIEW OF UPPER FRONT DOOR AND CEMENT BLOCK ROOF

The temperature of these outside root cellars remain slightly above freezing during the winter which slows down spoilage. Produce stored in indoor cellars, usually the basement type,  do not have the same storing qualities as the outdoor cellars. 


A wide variety of food could be stored in Margaret's cellar if she desired -- cured meats, milk, cheese, dried foods, canned food, fruit and vegetables. 

GHEEN, MINNESOTA, FARMER PUTTING DIRT ON ROOT CELLAR ROOF
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, LEE RUSSELL PHOTOGRAPHER 1937

Here are a few Farm Security Administration photos of root cellars in the western part of the country. Photos were taken by the photographer Russell Lee who worked for the FSA during the depression years. 

I have captioned my post's last three photos with information known about each one. These pictures represent the "hey day," of root cellars.

HOMINY THOMPSON IN DOOR OF THE ROOT CELLAR HE BUILT
SHERIDAN, MONTANA
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, LEE RUSSELL, PHOTOGRAPHER 1937

Root cellars appear to have had their peak periods during the 1800s through about 1950. Modern refrigeration put an end to the popularity of building such structures. That is except Margaret's husband who built his in 1971. Recently, with the back to land movement, there has been renewed interest in root cellars.

For a good discussion site on root cellars click here on nativestones.

OLD ROOT CELLAR ON FARM NEAR NERTHOME, MINNESOTA
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, LEE RUSSELL, PHOTOGRAPHER, 1937

APPLACHIAN CUSHAW -- A TRADITIONAL FOOD AND DECORATION

CUSHAWS WITH A  HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN 

Call it a Tennessee Sweet Potato Squash, Cushaw Green Striped pumpkin, or Green Striped Cushaw, they are all the same squash from the Curcurbitaceae family  that have deep roots going all the way back to 7000 to 3000 B.C. They are believed to have originated in Central America and then eventually made their way north to the U. S. by mid-nineteenth century. 


Today they can be found, usually, at local stores or farmers markets in Appalachia. Commercial farms that distribute to chains generally do not grow them so forget trying to find them at a chain grocery store. They are a large and handsome squash that gives them another role besides being used for baking and cooking. Their other role is as sidekicks for the great orange pumpkins -- both used in decorating for harvest and Halloween scenes in yards and on porches in Kentucky.

They are heirlooms of the plant world and grow better in the south than the north. They are huge, 10 to 20 pounds or more, prolific and hardy -- withstanding onslaughts from the vine borer. They can be treated as a summer squash when they are young or a winter squash when they mature in the fall.


In the Appalachian area, Cushaw pie is  traditional with many families as its taste is similar to pumpkin pie.  A Virginia blogger, scrambled hen fruit, has a great food post that featured Cushaw pie along with its recipe on the following post -- http://scrambledhenfruit.blogspot.com/search/label/pie


The seeds for Cushaw's can be found online with seed companies that carry heirloom seeds like Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. 

Perhaps for those living in the northern climates it might be fun  growing some of these squash to put a dash of of southern taste in your food preparations or to give your orange pumpkins some team mates for Halloween.