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Home My WebLink AboutThe Brussels Post, 1978-05-24, Page 12SAFETY with precast concrete steps ME iv 11111 Mr. Unit Step can provide you with a safer entrance is Non Slip Safety Treads • Expertly replaced in hours not days • Steel re-inforced precast concrete provides longer life n Maintenance free, No painting reqUired • Many sizes of steps and porches Quality Ornamental iron railings to compliment your entrance Call Mr. Unit Step for your free estimate , UNIT STEP Settifprfh 5274820 Your Precast 806dig8t0 IFEMEEL Aw>. Ken Doig Windows Invites You to see the latest in all styles of SOLARIS° CLAD WINDOWS SUNDAY, MAY 28 at the Seaforth Golf Club 11/4 miles south, 1 /2 mile east of Seaforth Demonstrations continous from, 1 to 5 pm - COFFEE & DONUTS - SOLARIS® Products • eliminates frost - The high value of 4" air space doilt,A1 Oozing units ntIN the r104. cOoduCtiVity Cieon oliminatet Condensation. Geoli conductiveig Con- alUMIntial td are strong and durable cJes,groei foi our. totiO Climate.• Solsuhe quouslec .110 guar anlbed by the StIversei0 5-yitar Warr witv. • AdVantaget Cleat v!sion yoar rood woe, i nutdatiou (or tool saving. Somrstw insioutton for wooter cotntort, Elimination of storm window orottlerns (sIntsos. maintenance. et4.). Only two surfaces to chitin. Reduction of outstdo noise tionsittioslon. Doable weatherAtt,tr Arareuntt Attract se Cro6tt view el a 5ptaris Vit KEN DOIG WINDOWS 527 1113 Seaforth,.On t. 12 THE BRUSSELS POST, MAY 24, 1978 Remembering The little house out back by W.G. Strong "When memory keeps me company, Moves me to smiles or tears, Two weather-beaten objects Loom up through mists of years, Behind the old school-house. they stood A hundred feet or more And hurrying feet had worn a path Straight to each swinging door." Anon. When the Board of Trustees of every rural school section contemplated the erection and equipping fo a new school-house, particular attention had to be given to the necessary outbuildings. The construction of the girls' and boys' conveniences was imperative and became known by various appelations; outhouse, backhouse, closet, toilet, biffie, two-holer,-, outdoor plumbing, parliament building. The Department of Education showed as ,, much concern over the erection of these twin buildings as they did with the school-house proper. The plans and specifications for these out-buildings were an intergral part of. the school's design and had to be incorporated into the contractor's tender. , It is doubtful whether any school board or contractor con sidered -the official blue-print for the toilets serously. In actual practice the local design was simpler -and produced a very serviceable building. Specifications recommended flap-boards for easy access at the rear for cleaning purposes as ,well as galvaniied iron pails undereach seat. Some boards hesitated to comply with' the in- structions since the former •provided handy clandestine opportunities to study part of the human anatomy of unsuspecting specimens. Iri winter the cold icy blasts of wind and snow had an uncanny knack of filtering under the flapboard causing the convenience to be. anything but convenient. In place of the catch-buckets ulider_the toilet scat, the board 'found it more functional to dig a trench beneath the service portion of the outhouse. Each spring the night soil had to be removed. Sometimes an excavation was made nearby • and the mal-olorous contents deposited there in and covered with earth to create little mounds. • .„ Some engaged a farmer to remove this Rain puts crops behind schedule Don Pullen. Huron County Ag: Rep., said the growing season in Huron County is about two weeks behind last year's schedule due to the heavy rains recently. He said many farmers were able to plant their spring grain and some of their corn during the prolonged dry period which pre- ceded the rain, However, he said some farmers say their corn is still "all in" - which means "all in the bag". Mr: Pullen said corn planting will likely be resumed in the next day or so. He said there is no cause for undue concern at this point, given the normal' summer growing season: Mr: Pullen added old timers agree it's been "an unusual spring" with the prolonged dry period followed by last week's heavy rains. the Ag. Rep. said the rain WAS Very valuable and one benefit is that conditions are now ideal for herbicides to work. He said grass in the pasture fields has. also started to grow better since \the rain so people whO pasture cattle are getting them out on the land: said he expects dairy farmers will start 'turning their ows out to pasture in the next week human excrement when he was cleaning up his barnyard of its. accumulation of manure, Despite this extremely disagreeable, offensive and unhygienic task some semblance of cleanliness was obtained to meet the scrutinizing eye of the inspector when making his semiannual visitation. The erection of a fence to screen the front of each privy often resulted in an enclosure which acted as a snowtrap in winter or made supervision from a distance rather difficult. Insome instances the board members found it convenient to dispense with this visual barrier and accomplished the same objective by placing the privies at a discreet distance from one another at the rear of the school-house. The term, discreet, really meant the extreme width of the school-yard. ' The privy was well-named for it was in ingenious device for preserving human privacy. The carpenter by simply shifting the door to one side was able to'use the remainder of the front wall as a blind for the service corner. This, combined with the fact that the door swung inward, screended any sitting , member from public' gaze whether the entrance was open or not. All too often, the. door sagged just enough to scrape the floor so the opening could be readily adjusted to' provide the maximum amount of fresh air, light and the desired range of view with the minimum chance of self-exposure. Who could wish for more? This hindrance to the free movement of the door had an added advantage for it stymied the wind from blowing it open when visitor was otherwise preoccupied. The life-expectancy of a latch or inside Catch on the door was extremely short for a break-in or .a break-out was always occurring as the pupils were over participating in various ' shenanigans. The privy was the recognized place of safety for anyone attempting to escape from pursuing ."Out-- laws." if one had anything of a confidential nature to impart to a friend, the parliament building' was the ideal place in which to communicate. Upended During the summer months the perversity of youth led many outhouses to be upended. As they lay in a prone position, they were silent sentinels to the fact that school was out, its members no longer in session. A few days before the opening of school in mid-August a work-party reactivated the fallen con- veniences, When certain board members became indignant with the regularity with which these ourhouses were overturned, they had them securely anchored with wire braces and stout stakes. It likewises reduced the possibility of the utility being moved as a • hallowe'en prank. The size of the hole or holes in the school privy did not always complement the size of the rear portion of a pupil's anatomy so that occas ionally someone had to effect an embarrassing rescue. A small grade one tot after having secured permission to go out, back by raising the hand and displaying one or two fingers was often caught short and decided to, roost in a hole much too large forher slender body. Her form jack-knifed into the orifice and she was tillable to, extricate herself. Her _ stifled cries for help failed to reach the schoolhouse proper. It was only.when the conscientious teacher missed her entire grade one class that she left the classroom to investigate and heard the sobs of the beleagured, urchin. As she neared, the whimpering ceased suddenly and the child, deject. but unhurt, asked to have her bigger sister come to her assistance. Believing that discretion was the better part of valour in such as delicate matter, the sister was duly summoned and in a matter of mlinutes both girls were back in the schoolroom without shoWing any outward signs ' of having participated in anything approaching a tragedy. As summer approached the stench made (Continued on Page 16)