Of its many inheritances from the outport world, Bell Island's family structure must be counted among the most important. Family in the traditional outport setting meant and means not only the family into which one was born or the family of one's children but what has often been called the extended family. This included grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and even people who were not blood relatives. In almost every outport there were people who were universally known as "Aunt" or "Uncle". Within the extended family, children were introduced to the world of work by example rather than by formal instruction. Old people went on working at whatever they could usefully do until work became impossible for them. Needless to say, the care of the incapacitated old was regarded as a family responsibility to be discharged faithfully to the end. It was not uncommon to find three generations living under one roof. The intricate network of duties and responsibilities that went into the making of the outport world produced in people a strong attachment to home and a well-defined sense of identity. It is interesting that to this day an outport Newfoundlander will not say that he is "from" a particular community but that he "belongs" to it. Bell Islanders thought the same way.
