The Shack in the Back

Some of you Woodsdale Kids were lucky enough to visit the Quinn farm at some time and I have heard some of the amazing stories you tell about it. The farm was a great place to run around unsupervised, work your tail off, and generally get away from the city.

There was no electricity or running water so an outhouse was a requirement. When we first bought the place there must have been a close family living there before us because they left us a four-seater. We had to move it every few years once the pit filled up and Dad told us that the building should be the most inconspicuous on the property so I'm not sure what prompted us to paint it orange with blue/purple spots. Brother Michael built a delux version (see photo) with a dutch door and skylite in 1971. This particular outhouse was movable which was handy when it came time to dig a new pit.

We all learned to "lime the pit" after use and the peals of laughter coming from the shack were due to the joke books that my dad kept down there for extracurricular reading. The worst thing about the place was you had to check for snakes and spiders before use and going at night was out of the questions so we had a few covered potties around the porch.

Taking their children down to the farm was popular with my siblings. One group of my nieces and nephews took a flashlight down to the outhouse to peer in the hole and of course, dropped it in. For days they went to see how long the light lasted.

I'm hoping Kim Butler or one of the Leibolds will jump in here and share their rememberances of the farm we called "Booneyville".