We had electricity but no water or indoor bathroom.

What made everything more fun at Grandma and Grandpa Winebrenner’s house is that there was no running water and no pump for water at the house. The house had electricity, but no water. All of the water had to be hauled in buckets up to the house. Distance about 50 or 60 yards. Of course the spring was downhill from the house, so all of the water had to be hauled up hill. Water for washing, drinking, cooking, canning, laundry, bathing and more. It required a large number of trips to carry water. There was no refrigerator so the perishables were kept in the spring house down at the spring. The outhouse was a two seater with a urinal for the men and boys. The Sears and Montgomery Ward Catalogs were used for toilet paper. The glossy pages were always saved until last. Ugh! They didn’t work to well.

All of the children over the age of 4 had to to use the outhouse spring, summer, fall, and winter. Let me tell you, that in the winter, you did not want to get out of a nice warm bed, get dressed and hike 30 yards asshole deep in snow to go to the bathroom. You learned to make sure you went before bed and you held it until morning.

Now, can you imagine having a modern, for 1939, electric washing machine with no running water and no sewer line? I mean, damn, somebody had to carry water from the spring to the house to fill that washing machine, and the hot water boiler on the wood/coal stove, and enough water to fill an additional two wash tubs on wash day?
Damn it all, that is a lot of water to have to carry two buckets full at a time. God Bless Grandma, since she only washed clothes once per week. Course now, you add bath day which was also once a week during the warm season, but only once a month during the winter season.

Then of course there was canning season, and that took an awful lot of water.

You know I sure do miss the old days, right, in a pig's eye I miss them.


"(C) Copyright by Victor Winebrenner"