3-Seater

3-Seater. . , School Privy , The bathrooms in early schools were outside, away from the building, but not too far. Typical of the day, it seated more than one person simultaneously. The odor was often masked with fragrant plants, like lilacs or hollyhocks, planted near the privy door. Being delicate, Victorian visitors might ask where the hollyhocks grow, meaning where is the privy (or so the story goes)., Porcupines , The seat in our outhouse had to be replaced. Porcupines had chewed the holes into an enlarged size. Porcupines love privies as a source of salt. When spring arrives porcupines gorge themselves on green vegetation to compensate for winter weight loss. Green vegetation is heavy in potassium so the porkies search out sodium to balance their intake They will chew on anything salty like toilet seats., Construction , A well constructed privy would have air flow for odor control. This required a hole in the door, perhaps a crescent moon, for air intake and a vent in the roof for air outflow. The hole in the door also let in light, essential for reading the Sears catalog. Ours was not so elegant., Vandalism , During the late 1940s outhouses were still in use in Mackinaw. A gang of teenage boys would annually roam town on Halloween night tipping them over. One exasperated home owner laid a trap. He moved the outhouse back behind the hole. In the darkness the most eager boy got the full immersion experience., Love the Yellow Paint , What color was the outhouse? Taking a chip of paint and looking at its layers through a microscope revealed the history of colors of the building. Looking at the back of this chip you can see that the outhouse started white, went to a putrid yellow, and ended a dark green.. We picked the yellow because it was an old color and also gave the building some character.