Stars and Moons on the Outhouse

[Gene O. Carpenter]

I have a question for the "older" country folk, either gender,and this one will "date" you!

You remember the old out house , it usually had a crescent moon cut out in the door ! What was the signifience of that crescent moon?

I'm 69 and originally from a fly speck town, Wildie Ky, lived with no lectrik,no runnin water,one room school and the outdoor toilet complete with the affore mentioned door art,a Sears n Roebuck catalog nailed to the wall and a basket of dried corn cobs ,but I still don't know what the cut out was for!

Gene
Livin now with all the modern necessities for nigh onto 49 years here in New Joisey! Just a short piece from Paul who's having fun,somehow!

[Andrew Walker]

Hi Gene. Well, I'm not that old but I rememeber using a "privy" in England when I was a kid. Yep, back in the mid-70's our "row house" still had an outside toilet...tho' it would never be as cold in the winter as it is here in Canada . The crescent moon served a useful purpose firstly, in that you needed light to come in (no electricity and maybe lighting a torch wasn't the best idea ). It would always be higher up the door for obvious privacy reasons. Mythologically, the moon is a female symbol & the moon originally would have meant "ladies room" as there was likely another outhouse for the men with a sun or a star on it....you had to use symbols, remember, because people couldn't "read so good". Through the years, it just evolved into a single outhouse with a crescent moon on the door. You know, like a tradition. That's what I learned, anyway. And I'm sure there's many a good story to be gleaned from people who grew up using outhouses !

Andrew.....

[Andrew Mackey]

The crescent moon also let in some fresh air! My grand parents had a 2 holer until the 1930s. Grand ma got her NJ drivers license in 1934, I think, grand pa took her for her drivers test. They were upscale gentle-folk, and had central plumbing installed in the house the year before. No more pumping 200 gallons of water to the sistern for my dad every day! Any ways, grand ma passed the test! she drove home, proud as a peacock, until it came time to park the car! Grand pa wanted to park the flivver in the barn himself. Grand ma insisted she could get the car in the barn, which had a slight incline in front of the main doors. Well she got it into the barn alright! Right in, and right out too! As my dad explained it: "The car roared up the ramp, into the barn, with a terrible clatter, and we could hear it rumble across the floor inside. We never did hear the engine slow, we just heard a bump, a big bang, and a cloud of smoke and splinters appeared at the back of the barn." Grand pa figured that Grand ma hed hit the roof of the flivver when she hit the ramp into the barn, and had knocked herself silly! The car roared thru the barn, going backwards, knocked the rear door off its hinges at the back of the barn, went airborne for about 15 feet, and landed smack dab in the middle of the 2 holer, knocking it to splinters! Dad and his brother took 2 days filling in the hole with the splintered outhouse debris Grand ma refused to drive again for the rest of her life ( and had received a commendation from the NJ DMV for having a clear driving record for over 50 years! - little did they know!), and I remember my dad asking her to try. Her reply was always "You know what happened last time I drove a car, no siree, I'm not doing that again! (and she was very serious about it too!)
Andrew

[Mac Leod]

the moon, depending on which way it is facing designates the male or female out house...or so I have been told...

Mac Leod

[Bob Fultz]

*This answer was paraphrased from Nature Calls: The History, Lore and Charm of Outhouses by Dottie Booth. The moon symbol comes from the ancient symbol for femininity, Luna. Since many people could not read in the old days, the symbols showed who's privy was who's. Folklore tells us that women took better care of their outhouses, hence, more survived, and the moon became a lasting symbol associated with the outhouse. One reason women's outhouses outlasted men's involved porcupines chewing on the seats of men's outhouses (for the salt found in urine on the seat).

[Craig A]

Well Gene...I'm 53 and DISTINCTLY remember holding myself up with BOTH HANDS in the outhouse during WINTER!!!!
CRIPE that seat got COLD!!
I remember Mom heating water on the old white garbage burner for washing clothes too.
I THINK I was a HS Sophomore when we FINALLY got an oil furnace..
We heated the Shop with wood too till about 6 or 7 years ago.
IF I ever SEE another piece of stove wood it'll be too soon.

[George & Helen Myers]

Somewhere we have a copy of "Chick Sales" Book on Outhouses. Here is a site that you may find interesting, also the links looked interesting for us old folks: http://rootslady.com/The_Outhouse/outhouse_001.htm

Helen

[Gene O. Carpenter]

Thank ya'll for the enlightning! It all sounds washable,cept I can't imagine anything feminine bout a smelly 5'X5'X6' sloped roof shed with a bench seat with an elongated hole and a leather hinged lid !! It were a bildin of necessity wher one went to answer natures call whether you're a "setter" or a "pointer".
There was such a convenience at the one room school and at the church,each structure had both genders under the same roof,neither had any door art , only written on each door, girls or boys. The girls was on the left,the boys of right..Doors were hung from the center so they opened back to back,, To keep the boys from peeking in had they both opened same swing.
Nonethe less both were situated where the doors could be observed from the main structure.

Any body else want to tell their story bout the "out house"? Can't imagine there are so few of us left that do recall those "lil" houses !

Gene

[Alan in KY]

remember them i still havent lived half of my life with one im 44 and we didnt get a bathroom till 1983 we had running water in the house but no bathroom like craig says winter were bad news frosty seats are hard sit on

[Gene O. Carpenter]

Hey Alan in London Ky.
The crapper that I remember with such reverance is about 25-35 miles North of you ! About 2 1/2 knobs from Renfro Valley. Little place called Wildie.. Twas around on Clear Creek at a little group of shacks that the locals called "Mullins Village" . Was built on a bank with stilts in back ,was open so when the crik rose the cleanin was done ever time they had a heavy rain.. Wouldn't the DEP have had a ball with that one.

Gene

[Randy Hart]

This has nothing to do with the door art but I was amused by the story my uncle told on himself..

He worked the Wv Columbia gas system pipe line and told his coworkers he had to dig a new outhouse hole this weekend off and he didn't look forward to it..

The blasting foreman told him of a better way.. he took a 1/3 stick of dynamite and taped it to a long pole and stuck it into the back and bottom of the outhouse hole and started the fuse burning..
This he was told would open the bottom up and make room and buy him another year or so before a new hole would be needed... Well the fuse set the charge off and the whole contents of the pit blew the door, roof of the outhouse up and off just as my grandmother rounded the corner to see what he was doing.. He said he just walked past her on his way to the truck and the neighborhood saw mill for new boards.. She asked what happened ? he said earth quake and went on..

I remember the new outhouse up till I was around 13 when we went to visit her... I'm 43 now Randy Hart Ohio

[Gasengn]

An outhouse story. One summer day I was availing myself to the outhouse. I was sitting on the larger of the two holes. There was a vine that somewhat sheltered the door. The door had a long hook for those who wanted the door open six inxhes or so for fresh air. The short hook was for closing the door tight. I had the door on the long hook. My sisters cat walked up to the open door and looked in. It took a few steps in and sat down on the wooden floor. It rose up, crotched back and jumped to be on the seat beside me. Instead of landing on the seat, it sailed through the other hole and landed splat in the slurry below. Our kitchen sink drained into the same pit, thus the slurry. I quickly finished and lifted up the seat board only to see a yellow cat half submerged in the slurry. My mom being resourceful put a basket on a rope and lowered it down and the cat climbed in. We held it by the tail and turned the hose on it. Guess who got accused of throwing the cat in the crapper?

[Mac Leod]

OHHHHHH, thats a good one!!!!!!

Mac Leod