Old Out House

[Wayne Goodwin]

When ya was young growing up did ya ever have to use an Old Out House ?

[Wayne Goodwin]

Well our outhouse was well used . It had a crack from two boards that were cut out to form the hole . It would pinch the crap out of ya if ya wasn't careful when sitting on it . When the hold got full we would just move it and dig another hold filling the first hold . Used by Mom Dad Me and my Brother and visitors . We used newspapers most of the time . And yes Sears & Roebuck catalogs to . Loved looking at the pictures as i built up many memories of that weathered old shack . The top rotted one time and i nailed a 1962 Chevy hood on it to keep rain off . I also ran a light wire to it for a light . It was rough in winter with those 20 inch snows and late at night . It was probably 150to 200 feet from the house . Down wind was a must but the neighbors got most of the smell . Our first bathroom came in 1970 when i bought a 12 X 60 mobile home for us to live in . Those Pee Pots came in handy also .....Once i moved in an old house that had a Out House in a cow pasture . A bad storm came up one night . The wind took it and never to be seen again ....

[flippr 2.0]

 pinch the crap out of ya...isn't that the point?

[crestofwaves]

My Uncle Ernie had a bungalow on Long Island by Lake Ronkonkomo before it was all built up. It was woods back then--so it was an adventure to spend time there. We'd go there in the summer and sho nuff, we used an out house.  As a little kid from the city, it fascinated me, and I would look down the hole to see what all was down there, holding my nose, of course.

If someone had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night ( there were lots of young cousins) someone else would be sure to wait in the trees to jump out at the person.

When my Uncle got indoor plumbing, some of the charm of that place went.  We even used to wash at the water pump!

Love your description of your outhouse! And the roof, lol.

[Wayne Goodwin]

Back when i got to know the old lady . Her daddy had a brother that lived in house below it . He had an Outhouse . One morning he had to use it . Went out and went in . When he sat down he fell in . The boards were rotten . It broke his leg and he was stuck there till the next morning standing in crap up to his waist . Happen back in 1971 ....

[flippr 2.0]

talk about a sticky situation,eh?

 

[Lifesighs]

Not ever, I'm so happy this was not an experience for me. I've seen some but never used one. My husband built the first bathroom in the old ranch house for his mom when he was 17, he dug out the old foundation and added the bathroom along with all the wiring for electricity because that was when it was first available. He was so pleased with himself when the electricity was turned on everything worked. It was in 1945, the year I was born.

[Wayne Goodwin]

Dang she could have sit on a Pole ....

[Shadowman]

I grew up using one and it even had the stock Sears catalog. We did not get indoor plumbing until I was twelve. Pumped the water by hand from the same pump we used for the cows for the pail of drinking and cooking water we kept on the sink next to a pan or wash basin. Seems like a completely different world looking back.

[Wayne Goodwin]

The houses we lived in back in those day were houses that were built for employes of the brick company . Tin roofs , had a asphalt siding that looked like brick , no insulation , Slept on two sheets sewn together with straw stuffed inside of them for a mattress . No running water but each house had a spikit <(sp) outside to get water from . Took a bath in a wash tub . Outhouse was a luxury for us . Better than crapping in a 5 gallon bucket .

[Kim]

My summer camp had 2 sections...the OLD and the NEW and it depended..SOMETIMES we ended up in the old section and there WERE outhouses we would use because the "new" bath house was too far to walk. And besides there was always a line.

 

My mother in law bought a summer cottage in Pennsylvania in NO MANS LAND around 1984 and it had no indoor plumbing until about 1987 or so so we used the outhouse, the water pump for water and a fire to heat the water up for a little tub of water for my baby boy. We bathed him in a big silver "basin" and THAT picure is STILL on the refridgerator at the cabin. (He is 28 now...LOL)

And BTW....the outhouses and porta potties of today are a LUXURY compared to what I had to deal with when I was 2 weeks in Africa last summer...SERIOUSLY! We were NEVER so happy to see a simple flush toilet!!

 

[flippr 2.0]

I never used an outhouse,call me old-fashioned.