OUT HOUSE REVIEW

I want to continue from the last blog I wrote about, The Two Story Out House.

If you remember, I was a bit stumped on how the two story john may have worked.

I don't know why but this thing haunted me for a few days. I had used my imagination over and over and all I could come up with was I would never want to be the one using the bottom level potty.

If this has kept you up at nights and you haven't found out for yourself I will give you the answer I found. The answer was so simple when I found it I was a little red faced the answer was so simple.

Looking at the picture of a two story Out House you could not tell the secret was in side the wall of the structure. This is what I found after a search of Two Story Out Houses.

A double Decker outhouse sounds absurd to a generation weaned on indoor plumbing. (Hah hah, pe-pe on floor I get poop on Head.) But this "sky scrapper" is no joke. Its upper- and lower-floor holes are discreetly placed on opposite sides, and a second, inset wall on the ground floor forms an invisible chute. Droppings from above plummet unobstructed and out of sight, although not out of earshot.
Samuel Gammill built the outhouse at the rear of his general store. There were apartments upstairs, and the second floor of the building connected to the second floor of the outhouse across a short ramp, giving 19th century tenants a private bathroom. The store was torn down in 1984, but the outhouse was carefully spared. Gays, Illinois had been promoting it as a tourist attraction since the 1960s.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2527

So now we all know how a Two Story Out House works. Who knows it might come in handy if the government keeps pushing us back to the stone age with all the environment regulations they are putting on us for our own good.

Here in Reno they say "we are saving water with a new style urinal." They are placing them in the men's restrooms they call them the waterless urinals. In using this system it's like using a port a potty. I found there is always a faint port a potty smell in a rest room using this system. Maybe the Out House is on it's way back.

Have all of you good folks of Valsetz made your way to the Valsetz after midnight and spent time inside looking around. I had fun building it and learned how to improve the one for next year.

Of course all Valsetzer know there was no Grave Yard in Valsetz, it's nice to have a grave yard at least once a year. I hope the ones that found and played around in Valsetz After Midnight enjoyed it. Even if you are not from Valsetz you will enjoy the site.

I plan on leaving Valsetz After Midnight up and make changes Thu out the year or until I need the web space if you have any ideas let me know.

Halloween is now upon us knock on wood no tricks this year. I have had no tricks pulled on me or my property since arriving in Reno, NV in 1978.

My Halloweens in Reno have been years of not much doing. Living in the sticks out side Reno

for 26 of my 31 years here we had not one visit from any Halloween creatures for treats or mischief. The last few years we had average of 50 Goblins asking for a hand out.

The sad things about Halloween is now we have the Halloween Nuts that put items into the kids bags with intent to harm the youngsters. I feel for these kids of today not having the Halloweens I had as a Valsetz Kid. I remember Halloween was fun for ever one in Valsetz there wasn't these worries of you child getting apples with razer blades in it or some one doing harm to your child.

The Halloween nights I went trick and treating in Valsetz my folks only instructions was have fun get lots of candy but don't do any damage. Valsetz parents knew the most the kids would do is soap a window or two and spread a little tp and the worst egg something. There was very Little egging and paper spreading because we knew it cost our folks money to replace them and would get a good ass busting if got caught. One bad thing for kids in the Valsetz community was the ability the parents had in watching ever ones kids. If I done something wrong My folks knew about it before I got home. I swear their system was far better than any thing on the market today as far as security and surveillance.

If I as much as give back talk to the store clerk my folks had me by the butt when I walked in the front door.

Trick and treating was always an adventure. I honestly believe ever child in Valsetz went to ever house in Valsetz. You've heard the old postman saying about wind,rain,snow blah,blah,blah that was kids in Valsetz on Halloween Night no matter what we went Trick & treating for those goodies, eating candy about ever step until you could eat no more.

The kids going trick and treating this Halloween have no idea of how restricted they are.

Halloween has almost become a thing of the past with all the restrictions on kids. I've seen news reports of some schools now are doing away with Halloween in the school, kids can't eat the treats until parents check there treats, and kids arrested for soaping Windows.

I as other Valsetzers give thanks for a Valsetz childhood.

Looks as all the tricks will be on the kids this Halloween.

Happy Halloween!

I don't do Out Houses on Halloween

Halloween, As many others, I have always loved Halloween Especially the tricks part, the candy part isn't so bad ether.

I have done many a tricks ( some call them stunts )over my life time and hopefully may pull off a few more.

Remembering back to my childhood days of Valsetz Halloweens I had one of the tricks (or pranks if you wish) come back and bite me in the butt as no other Halloween trick ever has.

Back in the early fifties some of the houses in our part of Valsetz were still using out door plumbing. No, out door plumbing is not bringing water into the house for the purpose of drinking ,cooking and, flushing the toilet Nor is it doing your business in the bushes.

For the ones that were born in the sixties and not living in the Boon Docks, out door plumbing

referees to little buildings you walk out to when you need to do your business, they called them Out Houses.










Have you seen a home with a up stairs and down stairs Out House? I never knew they existed.
As I remember each Out House always sit over a hole a in the ground!
Makes you wonder how this type Out House worked.

Here is another lesson for all you people that though unisex bathrooms was something new. Now you know unisex bathrooms have been around since who knows when.

Sorry for straying but to get the most of my story I needed for you as a reader to know what Out Side Plumbing was.

Back to my story of being bit in the butt after pulling a Halloween trick.

This Halloween would be the first year my friends and myself felt we were to big to be going door to door trick or treating.
As most young boys of this age we decided we would go tricking Halloween night. Who wanted to go to an old Halloween dance. But what tricks to do and who do you trick was now our only thoughts. As we planned our capers for the fate full Halloween night we got more excited as each caper was planned. Some where during all this excitement I come up with this big Idea that was to make this Halloween the best ever. It turned out different for me, this Halloween become the biggest butt biter I ever was to have.

Things would have been fine if we would have stopped with just one, but no we had to do the neighbors too.

You might have guessed by now we pushed over the Out House to my house and then done neighbors.

Like I said If we would have stopped at shoving over the Out House to my house we would have been fine.

As far back as I could remember I had heard of Halloween story's of pushing over People's Out Houses. What give me the Idea to push over our Out House was my family did not need Out Side Plumbing any more because inside plumbing at our house had been completed a few weeks prior. No harm No foul right.

The problem was the neighbors inside plumbing was not completed (whoops.)

The following morning we were awoke by our neighbors in need of our facility. As I lay in bed I could hear the conversation going on between my folks and the neighbors. It went some thing like this. Paraphrasing, I got up to go out back to do my business and to my surprise no Out House .

So I headed to your, it was gone also, it good you got yours inside because your old Out House is down the hill by the tracks and busted up bad. I heard my dad mumble a few obscenities and then told the neighbor lets go out and put yours back over the hole. The neighbor spoke can't it busted up when it hit the ground. Then he asked dad, I hate to impose but can I use your toilet?

Dad laughed and told the neighbour sure you and the wife are welcome to use it any time you feel the need. After the neighbor finished his business my mom gave him a cup of coffee. When she handing the coffee to him she ask who in this town would do something as stupid as this? The neighbour replied I'm sorry to say this but I think Jerry had something to do with it. I saw him with a bunch of boys milling around town last night, and I found what looks like one of your old work gloves next to the hole you know the ones that had blue pain on them, I left it out side it smelled so bad. My dad then told the neighbor I will find out if Jerry was involved we thought he was at the Halloween dance.


That's when I started wondering if I could get to the green timbers with out being caught. To late not a chance I could heard dad heading toward my room.

I don't think I have the space nor the time to repeat the conversation my father had with me, nor the one with my mother.

I have always been told the truth will set you free. After confession to my folks that I indeed with help from my friends had pushed the two Out Houses over and those were the only ones we had ever done begin to think this truth will set yo free was bull S*%#.

Not only did I get a good butt beating but blistered hands filling in the holes of the old Out Houses.

I had to go and apologize to the neighbours and tell the them how sorry and stupid I was (my Mom insisted I use the word stupid) then as my mom said" tell them they could use our toilet any time they feel the need." The waiting for the neighbors to get their own indoor plumbing was the worst punishment of all. Their need was quite often and lasted for over a month. The topper was when our indoor plumbing was installed they built the little room by walling a section off from my bedroom and the wall was next to by bed, and no insulation was put in the wall.

Come the Halloweens of following years I give Out Houses a wide berth.



Make sure you don't miss VALSETZ AFTER MIDNIGHT Halloween special at
http://valsetzhalloween.homestead.com/index.html

Or you can find the link on http://valsetzoregon.com/