Outhouses – A Comical Look – Jan 12 2017

A typpical outhouse. From: http://gillansinn.com/outhouse-drawings-plans-diy-free-download-peter-chair-lesson-plans

A typical outhouse. From: http://gillansinn.com/outhouse-drawings-plans-diy-free-download-peter-chair-lesson-plans

January 12, Thursday, 7:00 pm. See evening agenda below. Please note that the date for this event is on a different night than the traditional night. This SCHS general meeting will be held on a Thursday night.
Notice the venue will be at the Sperreng Middle School on Tesson Ferry Road at Concord School Road.

“The “Outhouse Program” by David Braswell and Mardy Eisloeffel, is a tongue-in-cheek survey of an aspect of our ancestors’ lives which has with few exceptions been unfairly overlooked in the history books. We aim to help set the record straight about this fascinating subject, discussing among other things design, construction, placement in relationship to other buildings, plants strategically located nearby, and a plethora of other topics.”

About the presenters

David Braswell is a native of Belleville, Illinois, and his mother’s family were pioneer settlers and entrepreneurs of the Mascoutah area, having come to the USA from Germany in the mid 1800s.  David teaches German at Southwestern Illinois College and is deeply involved in the study of area history and preservation of old buildings, including a number of Belleville homes and a bed and breakfast which he and his wife Marcia operate in Maeystown, Illinois.

Mardy Eisloeffel is also a Belleville native who can trace his father’s family back to Germany in the mid-1800s.  Mardy is a retired English teacher at SWIC and still works there part time as a tutor.  He too appreciates history and historic objects.  He lives in his great-grandfather’s vintage-1893 farmhouse and has filled it with antique clocks, parlor organs, phonographs, radios, and pretty much anything antique.”

 

Outhouse post card From: http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/ouths/ouths.htm

Outhouse post card
From: http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/ouths/ouths.htm

So hurry to Sperreng on Thursday night to get a good seat! Bring a friend to make it a two-holer! 🙂

Doors open at 6:30 pm for members and visitors to see displays and exhibits, and to meet the speakers for the evening. There will be a brief business meeting at 7:00 pm, then refreshments are served followed by the presentation on outhouses. Doors close at 9:00 pm.

 

 

 

Sperreng Middle School as seen from Tesson Ferry Road

Sperreng Middle School as seen from Tesson Ferry Road

See directions to Sperreng Middle School.

12111 Tesson Ferry Rd. l St. Louis, MO 63128

Just for fun…

…bring your outhouse stories and memories to share
…bring your thoughts on the ideal outhouse…location…color…plantings… air conditioned?…carpeted?

get…… a souvenir 
Sears catalog page when you arrive on Thursday at Sperreng Middle School
All in fun!

For a “deeper look” into outhouses…

Wikipedia
Great Outdoors – 10 things you probably didn’t know about outhouses
Legends of America – Outhouse Trivia
The History of Sanitary Sewers
How the outhouse helped save the South
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture – Outhouses
Out in Back: Digging Into the History of Outhouses
Cottage Life
Roadside America.com – two story outhouses

Pinterest

Classic post cards featuring outhouses

Outhouse post card From: http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/ouths/ouths.htm

Outhouse post card
From: http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/ouths/ouths.htm

 

Outhouse post card From: http://bassriverhistory.blogspot.com/2011/04/chet-allens-florida-vacations.html

Outhouse post card
From: http://bassriverhistory.blogspot.com/2011/04/chet-allens-florida-vacations.html

A popular topic for post cards is outhouses. See some websites below for a sampling of the fun.

http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/ouths/ouths.htm
http://www.judnick.com/Outhouses.htm
http://www.oldpostcards.com/out-houses-postcards.htm

Outhouse stories

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-outhouse5.html
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/story/poor_gus-1879.asp
http://www.filbrun.com/stories/outhouse.htm
http://www.onegentleman.biz/Stories/2013-Favorites%20The%20Outhouse%20Chronicles.php
http://appalachianheartwood.blogspot.com/2013/09/appalachian-outhouses-part-2-stories.html

All in fun! Join us on Thursday night. See you then!