Vanishing Americana
A couple of weeks ago there was a story in The Wichita Eagle about the shrinking number of outhouses in this country. It seems the 2000 census shows that the outhouse count has dropped below one million for the first time since 1940 when the Census Bureau first began keeping plumbing records. At that time nearly half the homes in America had outdoor facilities.
The total now is down to about 670,000. That should be a heads-up (no pun intended) for the historic artifacts crowd.
You know how people are always trying to save the vanishing barns, brick streets, stone fences, and other examples of life in the good old days? Well, I figure that a news story about the demise of the outdoor potty will have the same result.
I fully expect someone somewhere to start a movement (no pun intended) to save the endangered "great American outhouse."
And we will do our part. We are the proud owners of a two-seater right in our own back yard. Bet you didn't know that, did you? It looks just like a small shed or storage building. In fact the building is in two sections. One side houses the "necessary room" and one side houses
I am waiting for the Peabody Historical Society to cabbage on to the idea of an outhouse tour. Now hold it (no pun intended), this is not beyond the realm of possibility.
For years they have sponsored home tours. The churches of the community, the Morgan House, the museum, and the Print Museum have been included. The group puts on the Candlelight Tours in the business district. They've held a lawn and garden tour, cemetery tours, and a bus tour of the surrounding countryside.
Other communities offer similar fare. But gee whiz (no pun intended), I am not sure I have ever heard of a town hosting a "Christmas in the Outhouse" tour. That would be an unusual event. I think we should be the first to exploit the idea.
The historical society has a newly constructed ADA approved outhouse behind the Morgan House. They could put that on the tour. The "facility" at Mayesville Mercantile is a bit of an oddity so it might fit in. I expect we could gussy up the two-seater in the backyard and make some attempt at festive holiday decor (bet Martha Stewart hasn't written the instructions for this one).
Surely there are other outhouses in town disguised as potting sheds or storage facilities. Someone must be privy (no pun intended) to that kind of information. The country club has several and I bet there are farms close by whose owners haven't yet gotten around to knocking over the structures.
We shouldn't eliminate (no pun intended) a promotion like this just because it might be a little odd. If outhouses are fading from the American scene and we have some, we should use them to our advantage. Plan the tour and promote it well. We'll be flush with success (OK, I meant that one.)
— SUSAN MARSHALL
