Outhouse etiquette, training and rules that can save you.

Thanks for introducing youngsters to the by gone days.......

.................one memory etched in my mind is a trip to the outhouse while staying at my Uncle's house as a small child. Guess I was too young to go by myself and my Grandma accompanied me for protection.

It was down in the barn lot and my Uncle had built a tool bin on one side of the bench and kept a hammer, and a few other tools in the bin on the bench.

I got in closed the door and followed the above advice about the proper level of britches being lowered, sat down and looked to my left at the tool bin. The light was kinda dim in there but I could see something that did not look right . Using the afore mentioned toe method, I eased the door open a crack to let a shaft of light in, and saw the biggest black snake I have ever seen, must have been 10 or 15 feet long. Busted the door off the hinges getting out, almost ran over my Grandma, made the 100 yards in Olympic time while pulling up those britches.

Never went back in there with out a gun toting adult along to clear the coast.

Thank you for in door plumbing.
 
Seating quality varied.

Some of the holes were just ragged cut-out with a keyhole saw.
Some holes were smooth and contoured - lots of sanding ??.
Latest version I met (circa 1977 Arkansas) had factory made commode seats installed.

Relief was only a few yards away and it always worked.

Bekeart
 
The only outhouse experience I remember //aside from boy scouts camp//was going in a 2 seater by a gas station somewhere in Arkansas. I was in a hurry to get out and left my Confederate kepi cap in it.

In the boy scouts, our outhouses also doubled for showers which only used freezing water. I had skittle can detail once, we poured a large container of bleach into each hole. The bleach smelled worse than the 'deposits' did.:eek:
 
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Used a fair number of outhouses over the years, mostly on camping and hunting trips.

One, I will never forget.

Was up in northern Maine, deer hunting, and camped behind an old abandoned farm, which of course, had an outhouse. About 14 years old, if I remember right. Was sitting in the outhouse, middle of the night, listening to the sounds of nature around me, maybe letting my imagination run away a little.

All of a sudden, I hear movement outside. Bear? Then something starts tearing at the side of the outhouse, trying to get in. I panicked, pulled up my pants, grabbed my flashlight, and burst through the door, making a run for it. Tripped and fell. I shined the flashlight back at the outhouse to see what creature was about to kill me. It was a porcupine, chewing on the side of the outhouse. He just looked at me, and kept chewing...

Larry
 
One fine day in West Virginia.
Maw said to Paw, "I shore wish you'd fix the outhouse."
So Paw went out to the outhouse and found the door was saggin'. He got his tools and tightened the hinges.
Next morning Maw says to Paw, "I shore wish you'd fix the outhouse."
So Paw went out to the outhouse, went in and closed the door. He saw daylight coming through a hole in the roof. He got his tools and fixed the roof.
Next morning Maw says to Paw, "I shore wish you'd fix the outhouse."
So Paw went out to the outhouse and looked around. He looked up, he looked down and he looked all around and couldn't find anything that needed fixin'.
Finally he looked down into the hole. Looked fine down there too.
Then he tried to pull his head up and his beard was caught in a crack in the boards. He twisted this way and that but his beard was stuck fast. He finally made on great effort and ripped his beard free.
Later that day, he told Maw about it. She said, "Irritating ain't it?"
 
Model 70 mentioned cleaning it out yearly and putting it in the compost heap.

I never heard of that. Way I heard it, the outhouse was built on skids - like sled runners. When the hole got full, you dug a new hole, pulled the building (on the skids it would slide purty good) over the new hole, and then use the dirt taken out of the new hole to finish filling up the old hole.
 
Yup lime was used in the outhouse to keep it smelling purdy. Fresh white paint every springtime then as needed. Put the toilet seat in it for the ladies.

Had the men water the flowers behind the outhouse it keeps the smell down inside the outhouse. Every time I move the privy I put a cement block at the top of the hole just below the surface. This tells me this spot was used incase I forget.

Purchased the land in '86. Hunted from a suburban with tail gate cooking.
No outhouse yet. With snow and ten degree temps it tested your manhood on how tough you were. Fresh running water nearby with soap and towels for washing. How rough could you rough it?
I made spaghetti and meatballs on the tailgate that night.

Our septic system was just approved. Building soon.
 
OUTHOUSE TO GO

Beat me to the ski's design. I can't imagine digging that stuff up. Once deposited it's there to stay. Much easier to dig another hole. Finding a level spot to put the structure & land you can dig a hole in can be the challenge.
 
Brings back fond memories! Put a 1/2 light door on my last one, kind of nice. Seems like horses watch and come for a pet if the door is open. It is kind of special when you locate the outhouse where you have a pretty view. Now have probably the only tongue and grove ceder out house in Wyo.

Be sure and bank the sides and plant a couple of posts against it for high wind days or brace it up.

One caution, always lift up the coffee can that covers the toilet paper before sitting down to check for visitors.
 
Both sets of my Grandparents were farmers. So I became acquainted with outhouses at an early age. The proper use of a Sears, Roebuck catalog too. Crinkle those pages real good now. ;)

When my sons were growing up, I spent 12 years as a Boy Scout Leader. All the Scout Camps in our area had Latrines. Basically an over sized outhouse with a pee trough and a two seater. The seats usually had a wooden lid that was set to close on its own unless actually in use. (remember this for the next story). It always surprised me how many boys simply would not poop on a camping trip. They were so afraid of what might be down in that hole, that they would hold it all weekend. :eek:
The ones that would use it, didn't like the idea of someone joining them as they conducted business. More than one argument happened. :rolleyes:
Likewise, there were some adults who would hold it as well. :confused:
It was always funny when we returned to the Church on Sunday afternoon and the stampede for the rest rooms started. ;)

One time we were doing an adult training weekend. No boys in the camp, just a bunch grown up kids. ;) Just after nightfall one of the ladies went to use the latrine. Back in those days (before what we have now) the Mini-Maglight was popular due to its small size. Well, she got settled into her seat and leaving the light on, she set it down on the boards between the two seats to help her see in the dark. As luck would have it, there was just enough of a gap in the lid for the other seat that her light rolled and fell down the hole. (Remember that it was still on) And as luck would have it, the light stuck in the goo pointed straight up! :eek:
All night long as various people went to use the latrine, those of us who knew about it would watch and wait. It was always the same. A person would go in, you'd hear the hinge squeak as the lid was opened, followed by a loud burst of laughter and the lid slam shut. Sometime you heard the lid open and close several times. I guess you had to be there, but it was absolutely hilarious. :D
BTW: several people offered to fish it out with a string lasso, but the lady who dropped it said No Thanks, she didn't want it back. :rolleyes:
 
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Brings back memories of my grandpa's stories, raised in a coal camp in KY. Later when they moved to a fancier coal town, they had outhouses ("A path and a shack") with sewer tile under them running the length of the block. Once a week, the "honey dipper" would attach a water hose to one end of the pipe and flush it down to "schidt creek". They also used the Sears and Roebuck and watched out for the shiny pages.
 
That story about the flashlight got me to thinking.

What would you fish out of a toilet?

I had a 25' tapemeasure on my belt, and when pulling my pants up it decided to go swimming.

I got it out, washed it and my hands, then went down to Sears and traded it in on another'n.

They used to have a graffiti wall, on Laugh In. One that's stayed with me since the 60s - LOOK BEFORE YOU FLUSH. YOU MAY HAVE DROPPED YOUR WALLET.
 
The Sears and Montgomery ward catalogs weren't just for reading. Remember to flush twice its far to the nearest city. Lol

At 5am with it being 10 degrees don't bother to read the news paper. You won't be there that long.
 
Out houses

Who all remembers the 4 holers in Vietnam & The AM stench of the burning of the half 55 gal agent orange barrels . Used an outhouse at home till I was - 5-6 years old & Thunder mug for night time.
 
This thread has brought back a flood of memories. We probably had about as nice an out house as anyone's. It was deep, constructed with a cement block foundation, drop siding, nice white paint and linoleum on the seat. My Mom was a clean toilet person. You really had to go bad when it was about 10-15 degrees out there. Think about how that would feel when you dropped your butt on that linoleum!!

We had our share of varmints and snakes and I remember once having to fish out a baby chick.

We had night time pots for the girls and the guys had to go outside. I remember my Mom giving us fits and telling us to go out further from the house when there was snow on the ground.

I still smile when I see an old house with stains running down from an upstairs window. I know they must have had some ornery boys.
 
I lived with outhouses clear up until I was highschool age. One room school houses between ranches. Cow camps and Bunkhouses had them. Some high falootin' ranches had them down near the barn.

When we finally built a house with a bathroom, my Grand dad stopped by one day and asked my Mom where my Dad was.. She replied he was in the basement working on a plugged sewer line.

He said "That's what you get for crapping in the house!"

Of course he had moved to town and had a bathroom in his house but us country jakes din't need them.
 
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