Thanks Anita for sharing, because I thought I was going to have to give some city folks a lesson in how females "go behind a tree" in the woods. ;-} It's really not that difficult. And it seems to me, it would be much easier with a hoop skirt on than in a 21st century pair of jeans. LOL. Lonny (who has done her share of marking her terriority in the backwoods of WV) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Anita L. Henderson" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 1:19 PM Subject: Re: Before the Portable Toilet > Dear Folks: > > People in the 19th century did use outhouses both in the country and the > city. I recall one very fancy one at Drayton Hall just outside of > Charleston. It was an ornately decorated brick structure about the size > of a small smoke house with a common wooden seat with 3 holes side by > side. Of course common folks would just have a wooden outhouse and not be > as fancy. Women's "unmentionables" aka underwear, had a large slit in the > crotch area of the bloomers which facilitated going to the bathroom with > hoops on. The hoops are quite flexible and one can get pretty skilled at > scooping up one's skirts and bending the hoops forward to get them out of > the way if one is sitting on the privy. If one is out in nature, all that > is needed is to squat and go ;-)!! As a 19th century living historian I > can vouch for how this works ;-))! Men would go in the woods as they do > now, the only difference being it would take longer as zippers don't get > invented until the 1920s and they would have to unbutton both trousers and > sometimes underwear when going behind the tree. If one is doing # 2, that > is a bit more of a challenge, as one needs to find something to sit on to > facillitate nature's urges. There is a wonderful contemporary book > entitled "How to S--- in the Woods" which is handy for folks who commune > with nature away from modern conveniences. The author as I recall calls > it a "lost art" ;-0! > > Anita L. Henderson > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [log in to unmask] > To: [log in to unmask] > Sent: Tue, 1 May 2007 12:07 PM > Subject: Re: Before the Portable Toilet > > > They went behind a tree. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ronald Whitaker > Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 11:59 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Before the Portable Toilet > > Sound like a thesis topic to me! Thanks, Brent. > > --One wonders how the process was achieved for the ladies adorned in hoop > skirts and layers of garments often required by fashion. That would seem > quite a chose in a facility, but in the woods......? > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Brent Tarter" <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 10:36 AM > Subject: Before the Portable Toilet > > > I noticed yesterday that in preparation for the Thursday visit of Queen > Elizabeth to Richmond the grounds staff has placed more than 75 bright > blue and green portable toilets in Capital Square, where a large crowd > is expected. They add a dash of color to the scene, but I am not sure > that on they whole they classify as a thing of beauty and a joy forever. > > I wonder, though, for all the centuries before portable toilets, what > corresponding preparations got made for large, protracted gatherings of > people at such events as revival meetings, political rallies, and the > like. Several thousand people spent the day on Jamestown Island in May > 1857 celebrating the first settlement of the colony, for instance, but > accounts of that event that I have seen mention speaking and eating and > drinking but nothing else. > > I suppose that people researching such events may have encountered some > references to that important subject, even though once upon a time it > might have been regarded as improper to mention it. Students of social > history or public health may also have knowledge of this subject, but I > confess that I do not recall seeing any references at all. > > Perhaps somebody out there can satisfy our purely empirical curiosity > about that part of the past. > > Brent Tarter > The Library of Virginia > [log in to unmask] > > Visit the Library of Virginia's Web site at http://www.lva.lib.va.us > ________________________________________________________________________ > AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free > from AOL at AOL.com. >