(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

ever use an outhouse

W

workstinks

Member

cvphoto85391.jpg
 
We traveled across Canada into Alaska 1974. Many campgrounds had only outhouses. Used plenty and interesting reading in there:)
 
Growing up we had an indoor toilet. Most homes in our part of Western Iowa added indoor toilets by the early 1960's. My grade school had outdoor toilets until 1964. No, I don't miss those things. Many things about the good old days really weren't so good.
 
Our family farm I grew up on had 3 outhouses. We did have running water and an indoor bathroom. The outhouses were of course before there was running water in the house. My Dad keep the outhouses in good shape and they were used often. When the city kids came over they thought the outhouses were really cool.
 
We still had one when I was a kid. We had indoor plumbing, but the outhouse was still standing. Jimmy Allen and I knocked it apart with a big old wooden maul when we were about 10. It's a wonder we didn't get a whipping for it.

There's one at a rest stop along US 127 south of Jackson Mi that's the worst one I ever had to endure. It's spaced out about where I need to stop when I go down that way. I've learned to go on down to the Marathon station a mile south of there.
 
Dad remodelled bathroom. Put carpet on floor. Mom like it so much she made dad run the carpet all the way to the house.
Sears catalog was dual purpose, reading material and TP.
George
 
The standing joke here is Did you replace the buzzard?

It used to be Did you replace the canary? but too many died from residual fumes, so we replaced them with buzzards, much more resilient!
 
Many years ago a neighbor painted the words U.S. Government Building in big letters on his old outhouse where it could be seen from the highway, always got a kick out of that one.
 
Our farm still has the old outhouse standing out behind a shed, totally unseen by anyone. And even if someone did see the little shack out back, most would have no idea its intended purpose. We had indoor plumbing on the farm my whole life, but I am no stranger to the alternative facilities
 
I went to several Boy Scout camps that used them. I remember we had one on the farm behind the garage that was out of service for as long as I could remember but the milk inspector made sure the door was still nailed shut each time he visited and the outhouse was at least 50 yards from the barn. Outhouses aren't that bad until the temperature gets below freezing then its a real adventure. They do make you appreciate indoor plumbing.
 

Was driving down US hwy 56 last week with some kind of road kill on the shoulder and a buzzard just pecking away at it. Buzzard and roadkill were about a foot from the edge of the white line. Waited for it to fly as I drove by and it never did. Pecked away while the vehicles behind me went by. Wouldn't have taken much for someone to swerve and hit it. Figured hitting a buzzard at 65 mph would probably total out the Prius.
 
Yep - as a little kid at Grandma's lake cottage in the 60's - and got stung by a wasp for my trouble. The old farmer who built our house in 1916 shot himself in the outhouse that used to be attached to the back shed during the depression. Fortunately the outhouse is long gone.

Tim
 
Our old farmhouse didn't have indoor plumbing just a cistern for water in the kitchen. Had a 2 hole outhouse outback. Always stocked with Sears or J.C Penney catologs!! Get the drift? Tom in Mn.
 
We didnt have an indoor bathroom until I was five, so used it out of necessity until then and many years afterwards for occasional use while you were outside. A couple funny memories, it was painted white and was the only building painted on the farm, so it was always referred to as the whitehouse. I never knew if there was any political pun intended. I never knew as a kid why the seat had three holes each of the different size, now I understand. Years later I found out my neighbor friends thought it was the highlight of their visit, they would save it up so they would have to go when they got to our place.
 
The outhouse on this farm went to the burn pile in 1949 when my parents installed indoor plumbing two years before I was born.
 
We had one for many years. It was always a Halloween trick for some of the bigger guys in town to go around and tip them over. One old boy parked his car by his and sat in the car all night so they wouldn't tip it. One guy moved his over after dark and that didn't turn out well for the tippers. A friend has a collection of them on his acreage. Has them all painted up and in a line.
 
One way we used to Flush the outhouse toilet was we kept a bag of lime by the side and after using it we dumped a handfull down in the hole.....I have no idea if it worked or hindered or made any difference whatsoever, its just what my parents told me to do ......Just sayin

John T
 
Yes, for 40+ years we visited my friend's lake cottage and they had an outdoor toilet. Even after indoor plumbing was installed, I still preferred my morning toilet activities to happen out there, in consideration of all the others in the cabin. I had a good story to tell but something just wiped out my memory bank ..... I might return later.
 
We had a two hole outhouse on the farm when I was a kid.

When a particular aunt and uncle visited my parents, they would both go to the outhouse together after breakfast.

I always thought that was kind of weird.
 
Have hit a few with a train. They wait until last second to fly and that's when the air being push by
the locomotive takes any lift from their wings. If they were still stuck on locomotive at the terminal I never removed them. They smelled awful, just like what they had been eating.
 


Our place had a two holer in the barn when we bought it even though there was indoor plumbing. There is a place in town that has an upstairs apartment with its own outhouse above the one for the downstairs apartment.
 
The outhouses around here were often accompanied by a lilac bush. And we learned at a young age not to leave your comic books in the outhouse because in case of emergency any paper was game
 
Ha, great story Goose. Maybe their bed squeaked and the outhouse provided a squeak-free environment. But you're right, that was kind of weird.
 
(quoted from post at 14:59:41 04/18/21) Ha, great story Goose. Maybe their bed squeaked and the outhouse provided a squeak-free environment. But you're right, that was kind of weird.
Click to expand...

It would be more weird if the two of they went in to a one holer.
 
(quoted from post at 09:06:55 04/18/21) We traveled across Canada into Alaska 1974. Many campgrounds had only outhouses. Used plenty and interesting reading in there:)
Click to expand...

Here I sit broken hearted .
Spent a dime and only phted
Last time I took a chance.
Saved a dime and cht my pants .
 

Most of the flyin moose and fishing camps are equipped with the outdoors facilities .
Due to the relative lack of use and cool weather . They were usually tolerable .
I did shoot a bear one time as it left our camp outhouse on Saga Lake . Had thought about opening fire sooner but considered having to repair or replace the faculties if the structure had been totalled .
 

Yes, at some remote camping sites. Never had one at home but friends of parents told stories of long ago and using an outhouse in the morning in the middle of winter in Michigan.

My first house had a hand-dug and brick-lined cesspool instead of public sewer hookup like every other house in the neighborhood. This was in 1997 and the sewer line out in the road had been installed in the 1950s. I guess the owners didn't want the expense of tying into the newfangled sewer system so they just kept going like that. Pretty soon the primitive system was overtaxed with results I won't detail here.

I got in touch with local plumbers who were able to dig down and find the stub for my house and hook up to the sewer. The county provided some kind of tax assessment so that I didn't have to pay the whole amount at one time, which I don't think was very much to begin with.

House needed a few other updates besides that.

Gerrit
 

When I was young we had one, as the house did not yet have indoor plumbing. It had been moved a couple times to different locations. When I was about 5 or so the house had indoor plumbing installed. Then the outhouse was moved to a location closer to the barn in case Dad needed it while doing chores. Eventually it left the farm altogether.

When I had my mail route it went by a pole shed owned by the township. They stored their grader there and the place also served as the township hall. They still had a couple outhouses set up there--his and hers. This was about the mid-point of my route and I used to pull over and eat lunch there and also would sometimes utilize the facility before leaving. It was kind of nice to have it there!! Not sure if it's still there or not.
 
Dad had an outhouse on the farm until around 1960, until I was a senior in high school. Two grandmas had their own little houses, and the five family members kept the little house busy. Mexican Joe had his in own in the brush somewhere. something us kids didn't care to find. Dad bought a farm about 1/2 mile away, it had a well. Dad had a house built, then we had a flush toilet. Both grand mothers got relocated also, and had their own houses. I always had grand mothers at home until I left for the Navy. No grandfathers. Stan
 
When I first moved here in 1980 I had one since I didn't have running water. I also remember having to use a outhouse when ever we visited my mom parents. They didn't have indoor plumbing till some time in the 70s
 
Yes shure have, great uncle had one, had to use when visited. Place used to have in MO had one, used it. bought place next door, it had one too. someone contacted me about it some older folks had went bad, needed better one. This was in early 80s.
 
Consider yourself lucky, Tim, that it was only a wasp. My great-uncle got stung by a black widow spider! He nearly died!
 
FYI the guy is in the woman's out house. Woman's has a moon on the door and the men's has a star on the door. Most men's did not last because men would not take care of it. In other words the men didn't give a

cr__ well you know.
 
Thanks, Steve. I was reading down a long ways to find someone with one currently in use outside their shop, like mine. However, I like the idea of the seat stored behind the stove in the winter - there is not enough heat in my old bum to melt the ice crystals anymore! Steve
 
The one on this farm is still here. I still use it when it is handy. I cleaned it just a few days ago. Should put some reading material in there. Now I gotta go look to see if it has a star or a moon in the door!
 
As I sit here in the sage,
Thumbing this catalog page by page.
Im thankful for the comforts in life,
That ease the strain of trouble and strife.
A modest man, I must admit
Would want a private place to sit.
For a powder room out in the brush
Its mighty small yet pretty plush.
Its wired for lights and even heat.
To say the least its quite discreet.
 
A few years ago, our neighbor built a small pole barn for a 2 car garage and finished off a decent sized room for his kids to have a place to hang out with their friends. No running water or plumbing. He built a small room for a toilet, made a bench with a toilet seat and a 5 gallon bucket under it and a bag of cat litter beside it. Use the toilet and then dump some cat littler on top, after everyone leaves, dump the bucket in the field behind and rinse out the bucket for next time. When you turn on the light, music starts playing to cover any embarrassing noises that might happen. He said the kids love it.
 

We had one till 1960 it set beside the RR track. Our house burnt down in 1960 we moved to town I tell folks we never would have got indoor plumbing if the house had not burn down. My dad and mom were both old school no plumbing and a wood stove.

We built back with all the whistles and bells, the neighbors across the street had a out house till 1976. Till then they never had indoor plumbing.

I have a bud that digs up places where out houses use to set he's a bottle collector he's looking for old medicine bottles...
 
A guy I worked with saw this. He stopped in a one horse town to buy gas. It had an outhouse out back. A woman went back to use it. The store keeper said watch this. He had a speaker set up in back of the outhouse. He said please leave, I'm painting down here. The woman came flying out. I believed him. A good story anyway. Stan
 
I traced the ring out on a piece of blue styrofoam, your bum heats up the new ring, makes the job a lot more tolerable. Dan
 
till 69 when we moved in the new house my dad built .we had a 3 hole to high one low still standing and still used it was built well with cement basement
 
Every community has one a goofy who has to do something goofy we had one who thought if he shot a shotgun down the hole he would destroy all the S&%t maggots down below did not go as planned needless to say he had to take a bath before Sat.night.
 
Up here in the frozen north, during the winter men would go out to the warmth of the stable rather than freeze in a outhouse. And I understood the women folk made use of chamber pots . Fortunately I didnt have to live that way
 
Spent some time with the amish. Some of the outhouses are pretty plush. In the winter they use lanterns turned low to heat the outhouse and keep the fumes from exploding.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

5
Toilet in a shop
2
Replies
25
Views
2K
hd6gtom
H
T
Outhouse plans
Replies
19
Views
2K
rossow (mn)
R
M
Has anyone ever tried?
Replies
5
Views
1K
Goose
Goose
F
Did MM ever use a big
Replies
3
Views
774
T.R.K.
T
5
? about ebay
Replies
16
Views
530
WI Dan
WI Dan
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top