Outhouse "Historians"

Outhouse Historians AG WORLD Ag World Frieda Nowland finds it a little strange that after 50 years of good Christian ministry her retired pastor husband Ron is likely to be remembered for his knowledge of outhouses Then again it was his idea The LaCrosse Wis couple was brainstorming with six other people for topics for the Sunday programs at the local Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center when Ron suggested that collecting stories about outhouses and how they are an important part of human history After doing a lot of research and putting together a PowerPoint presentation the Nowlands gave their first outhouse talk in 2000 Since then they ve repeated it nearly 70 times There s never been a program we ve done that elicits such a response Frieda says Those who invite them are typically senior citizens or church or historical society groups The Nowlands were nervous when asked to present to their largest audience of about 400 in Caledonia Minn at a Ford anniversary event with vintage car collectors The response was fantastic Frieda recalls Outhouses were important in helping stop the plague she points out and there s interesting world history about them Referred to as water closets in other countries Nowland s PowerPoint photos include a 3 000-year-old 30-hole marble public toilet in Turkey He also has a photo of a three-story outhouse attached to an apartment building in St Paul Minn -- with the holes offset of course The Nowlands and their daughter take photos of outhouses they discover while traveling to add to the collection As they speak to different groups the couple picks up stories from the audience plus an occasional piece of memorabilia They ve been given a small outhouse made of barn boards toilet-shaped salt and pepper shakers and even peach papers -- the tissues used to wrap each peach that years ago were a welcome upgrade from catalog pages Humor is a big part of the presentation Consider for example the story of English plumber Thomas Crapper Though he didn t invent the flush toilet as some myths suggest he did help make them popular And his name has never been forgotten Making presentations is a hobby and not a business for the Nowlands They re open to inquiries from groups about speaking at their events if it s nearby or fits in with their travel plans Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ron and Frieda Nowland 3112 Linden Dr Lacrosse Wis 54601 ph 608 788-2098; rfnow@charter net

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