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Root cellars provided for more than just a place for storage of various items. Root cellars were also incorporated into the fun past-times of the children. The late Mrs. Ella Pearce, stated that boys and girls use to gather around the cellars and have all kinds of games. When the boys and girls would go out in the evenings, the boys would make use of the various cellars to scare the girls. The late Emily Chaulk stated, that there were spirits in the root cellars. The young boys would jump out and scare the young girls!

Folklore was associated with the root cellars as well. A common local story was that of parents informing their children that babies came from the root cellars. Children from the Maberly-Neck section of Elliston were told that babies came from John Murphy's cellar. It is possible that the story of babies coming from root cellars can be traced back to the United Kingdom. In Wales, parents would tell their children that Leprechauns lived in the cellars, and that these Leprechauns would sometimes kidnap a farmer's wife in order to help her deliver her baby.

As you can see from the above, the root cellar played an important role in the life of the people of Elliston and surrounding areas. This role was not only in the preservation of vegetables and other food supplies, but also in the games that were played by the children, and the stories of folklore that were passed down through the generations.

Below is a short poem that nicely sums up a root cellar's basic function.


Root Cellar
	A dark and dismal place
	Its origins lost in history
	There is hardly any trace
	Forever it will remain a mystery.

			
	The root cellar in summer
	Keeps its contents cool			
	You do not need a hammer	
	Or any other sort of tool.

					
	It remains somewhat warm
	Even in the cold of winter
	A root cellar is true to form
	Whenever you choose to enter.