The idea of a mail box is intriguing but having been there (well not "been" there), I know it is indeed a paper towel holder. This is pretty fancy alright. Toilet seat and a real toilet roll, not a Sears catalogue, paper towel dispenser above a bench that has a cutout for a water basin (a seasonal thing not in this picture due to the inevitability of becoming a rather useless ice basin). I guess it is true that "cleanliness is next to Godliness".

A more detailed view of the amenities. It is seriously still in use. Submitted as Exhibit A - one toilet roll.
Last occupant had to be a guy - seat up :rolleyes:

a men to that ...sure would have been nice to have toilet paper instead of thoseold corn cobs...sears and roebuck would have been a luxuery in the south...you could always tell if the outhouse was fancy...there would be red cobs and white cobs....the white cobs were to see if you got your self clean..... charlie

When I was a boy, a friend's father installed a red box, with a glass front and a small hammer on a chain, just above the toilet paper roll in the bathroom that was located off their bar area. Of course, it had "In Case of Emergency" printed on the top edge. You guessed it, it had a corn cob in the case.:eek:

That's a nice outhouse Jack! All it needs is a picture window, a comfy blue foam seat, and electric lighting like mine has.

Dave, Jamie will be delighted to know I'm getting an electrically heated seat for the privy. It's really "state of the art" and quite attractive too. At least it will melt the snow that has always accumulated on the seat overnight in deer season.

Biffy? as in "You bet your Biffy"--
 

Lotsa character in the fotos there Jack- thanks for sharing. Had that church steeple been taller, I might have guessed Yankton, SD and the Prairie Queen Lutheran Church there- built in `1908 though. St. Patrick's in Parnell- has the tallest steeple from grade level to the top of the Cross of all the Roman Catholic Churches in the State- 266 feet--

Surprised few commented on the fine looking VH 12 and the fine Rooster pheasant it brought to hand- and later, dinner table. Great stuff indeed.

The British have their "Loo", the French their "Bidets" but the old two-holer with the Rears and Sawbuck catalogues is an American tradition- No wonder Monkey Ward's went bust- nobody even used their catalogues for "reading material" as they did the Sears- pity-

Outhouse geography question- big farm house, well trod path from back door to the outhouse- two men are on the path facing each other about midway between both points- Can you guess the nationality of the two men from such scant details given??:):)

Not sure why I'm thinking Irish but I can't get that to work.
All the wrong answers would be

The guy just finished could be Finnish or now from Hungry
The guy needing to go could be from Togo
If urgent they both could be from Iran or Rushin'
Meeting in the middle they could be Thai

And the real answer is???????

I'll take the "Irish" as a compliment Jack-
 

And stand you to a Guinness with a tot o' Bushmills should we ever meet-You are so close- as in dancing, hand grenades and horse-shoes, where it really counts- Yup-- The gent headed back towards the farmhouse is a Finnish- and the gent headed toward the two-holer, he's probably a Russian.

I have some Finns for neighbors, also some Danes- although 90% of our rural area is good old Mick Irish- I study history quite a bit- if I have my facts right, Russia tried to conquor Finland in the Winter of 1940- and got their butts kicked- the country and the people there don't quit-probably the biggest % of Finnish and Swedish descendants in MI live in the UP- also gets some rugged winters-

Anyway, thanks for giving it a 'shot"-- :corn::whistle:

You brought to mind an old elementary school days riddle.

Why is a fire engine red??

A fire engine has 8 wheels and 4 men
8 + 4 is 12
There are 12 inches in a foot
A foot is a ruler
Queen Elizabeth is a ruler
And a ship on the seas
The seas have fish
The fish have Fins
The Finns fought the Russians
And a fire engine's always rushin'
So it's RED :bigbye:

Does sound cozy. Is it a foot driven generator that gives the light? Do you also have forced air heating?

Back to the church and outhouse. Here's a shot that caught just a bit of the little house behind the house of worship. Next time down there, need to redo and have both structures in the shot.
Cheers,
Jack