Booth - Nature calls: the history, lore, and charm of outhouses

Copyright @ 1998 by Dottie Booth

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Booth, Dottie. Nature calls: the history, lore, and charm of outhouses/Dottie Booth.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-79124-5
1. United StatesSocial life and customsPictorial works. 2. OuthousesUnited StatesPictorial works. 3. Country lifeUnited StatesPictorial works. 4. United StatesSocial life and customsMiscellanea. 5. OuthousesUnited StatesMiscellanea. 6. Country lifeUnited StatesMiscellanea. I. Title.
E161.B66 1998 97-50323
973.909734dc21

v3.1

This book is lovingly dedicated to my children,
Amy and Douglas Scott, Tia Booth, John Booth,
and Robert and Gretchen Booth;

my grandchildren,
Evan Thomas Scott, Kerry Marie Scott,
and Katie Elizabeth Booth;

as well as all the other unborn little ones
I have yet to meet.

Lower left by Anna Kucharska; all others by Dottie Booth

Dottie Booth

A ny writing that involves personal stories as well as the gathering of history requires the cooperation of many willing contributors. I am deeply grateful to everyone who sent me photos and shared stories from their past with me. I have been truly amazed at the number of pictures I have received since I started my business, Nature Calls, almost six years ago. Selecting a limited number of photos for inclusion in this book was extremely difficult. In fact, the competition was so intense that my own outhouse didnt make the book!

The enthusiasm that people have for this subject has impressed me. Wonderful people from all over the country have made me laugh with funny stories and jokes. I was always pleased when someone would say, I saw an outhouse, and I thought of you. It was even better when they took a picture of it.

In addition to the contributors, I would especially like to thank my wonderful children, Amy and Douglas Scott, Tia Booth, John Booth, and Robert and Gretchen Booth. Their love and support have meant more to me than they will ever know. Their confidence in me often kept me going. For their optimism, pride, and helpfulness in so many ways, I extend my deepest gratitude.

Besides my children, other family members were my always-there support team: sister Lucy Fetterolf and brother-in-law Peter, sister Beth Moss, cousins John and Barbara Adams, and all my nieces and nephews: Peter, Jen, Dave, Erika, John, Janine, Elizabeth, Chris, Cathy, Jim, and Diane.

I thank my very special friends Joyce and Bob Hallman, Les and Sue McCoun, Suzanne Mayer, and Kathy Ford.

I am also indebted to Barbara Sartoris, my invaluable office manager, who handled many responsibilities and kept the business running smoothly when I was working on the book or away on business. She was always understanding.

Lena Bova, my cheerful assistant, willingly tackles whatever needs to be done, whether it be shipping, customer service, or inventory.

Laura Evard, presently in charge of special projects, has enhanced the many different positions she has filled in the company with her creativity and sense of humor. I appreciate her dedication.

Sarah OConnell, my friend and my doggies Nanny, cared for Maddi and my house while I was away. For her advice, help, and concern when I was overburdened, I am very grateful.

Marian and Paul Delisle made my many photo trips in the Adirondacks possible with their hospitality, and their lifelong friendship has always meant a great deal to me.

Dottie Booth

Outhouses are IN. Finally.

T here has been a growing movement toward collecting and preserving outhouses and their memorabilia. Everything old IS new again. Too many old privies were being torn down, burned, or used for landfill. Todays young people hardly know anything about these little structures and have no understanding of the lifestyle that went with them.

I began photographing outhouses when I realized that all these original pieces of history would eventually disappear with no proof that they had ever existed. Preservation, in my mind, was imperative.

For years, our family has spent the summer season at our home in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. Initially, I decided to photograph our dilapidated outhouse for the family photo album. I realized it would be gone and the grandchildren would have no idea what an outhouse was. I certainly had no intentions of developing a business!

After photographing a few of my friends outhouses, I thought that perhaps I could create an exhibit on a wall in the local museum to showcase some of these forlorn-looking yet charming reminders of bygone times. Outhouses were once an important part of everyday life, and their historical contribution should be recorded for posterity.

In 1988, I went on my first photo trip and found fifty-six outhouses still standing. I have done a photo trip every year since then, but the outhouses are harder to find each year. When I had amassed my initial collection of snapshots, I realized that if I put the pictures on notecards to sell in stores, more people would become aware of this vanishing species.

Dottie Booth

At the same time, I created a poster displaying even more images. A couple of years ago I created a jigsaw puzzle, and now Nature Calls, Ltd., distributes sixteen products, including playing cards, a stencil, earrings, and night-lights. As I took these products to trade shows across the country, national awareness was created and the business grew. It was exciting! Since then, I have gone from being the products development department, the secretary, accountant, shipping department, and head of marketing in a one-woman operation to being the owner of a thriving business with a full-time office manager and three part-time assistants.