The Enduring Symbol

An Enduring Symbol

It has been called by many names, the john, the shanty, the little shack out back, the throne, and of course, the outhouse.  The outhouse is an icon from our past that refuses to fade into oblivion.  Replicas of the outhouse have been turned into liquid soap dispensers, printed on wallpaper boarders, and even turned into piggy banks.  Candid shots of the infamous shanty have been framed and hung throughout more homes than you can imagine.  To top that off, there are songs, poems, and stories written in honor of the humble little shanty.

Why? 

Few can remember what it was like to make a midnight dash across the yard in the dead of winter.  The average citizen may have used an outhouse once or twice while camping as a child, but to make that midnight trek on a regular basis?  Not hardly.  In the early 1900’s indoor plumbing may have been the exception to the rule, but by 1946 most household’s sported one bathroom, if not two.

So again I ask, why do we, a society of pampered princes, remember the outhouse with such whimsical fondness?  There isn’t a single soul in my acquaintance that has ever had to bare their bottom and sit down on an icy seat.  How many times would you willingly crumple a page from a Sears Catalog to soften it before use, or would you barter your soul for a nice, soft roll of Charmin?

The horseflies and the stench are gone.  Memories of the dreaded dash through the yard in pouring down rain have faded into oblivion.  But the outhouse still stands.  It stands tall, not as a symbol of endurance and hardship, but as a symbol of the very foundation on which this country was built.  Our forefathers knew the truth.  A man’s place in society’s hierarchy didn’t matter.  All men were created equal.  Everyone had to use the outhouse.

Elizabeth Jean Allen
southcarolinabirder.com