It took quite awhile to think of how I wanted it to look and decide on the material to be used. I had taken down an old fence several year earlier and saved the wood - thinking I could make crafts with it; but then, I thought it would make perfect siding for the outhouse.

I talked to several of my brothers about it and they thought is was a great idea to build - even Harry thought it would be funny to build an outhouse.

Beside my shop, there is a well, with a concrete top. I thought that would be a great place to put the outhouse, but I wasn't sure Harry would be keen on the idea of having an outhouse on his property. So I told him of my idea and he said “Sure, why not?”

Harry told me that, when he moved to the Alston property in Darrtown, there was a small house in the back yard that had an outhouse. You can actually see a small indentation in the area where it sat. Guy Metcalf lived there, at the time. When Guy moved, they went to tear the building down and found out it was a log cabin.

So, now we Menke family members had determined the location of the outhouse and received the approval of Harry. Mind you that the outhouse is sitting over a working well.

Over the course of several weekends, my brothers and I got together and came up with some ideas. We built the frame inside the shop; but had to lay the outhouse on its side to get out of the shop, because the structure was taller than the wood shop door. After a few minor changes in the size, we rolled it out and sat it on the foundation.

We painted the outside and inside with wood preservative to protect it. The old fencing was the perfect size and gave the old look to the building.

Things were donated as we went along: (Ken) the skull above the door; (Al) the tin roof; (Dane) the lantern and moss; (Pam) the chimney; (Frank) the moon on the door; and Joe with time and labor. Harry Ogle donated the horseshoes, which were once worn by Smokey's horses.  

Harry suggested getting a mannequin to sit inside; but after looking into it, it was quite expensive, so we decided against it. Harry thought it would be a good idea to put a lock on the door to keep out uninvited guests and we decided to anchor the outhouse, as well.

I had a plastic toilet seat; but it didn't look right, so I found some old wood and made my own - painting the wood black beneath it to look like a hole there. 

The skeleton was bought on eBay as a joke - like someone had been forgotten in the outhouse for a long time and to use it as a Halloween prop. 

The Sears catalogs were added, because, as old sayings go, back in the day, Sears catalogs were used in the outhouses to read - and then, when finished, pages were torn out, crumbled up till soft, and used to wipe.

I wanted to find some Sears catalogs to place inside the outhouse; but I wanted them to be originals. I searched eBay again and found two original Sears catalogs (1935 and 1952) in mint condition. Come to find out, they came from an older man from New Hampshire who actually grew up with an outhouse.

The purchased catalogs are not left inside the outhouse - due to their age and being afraid that they might be damaged or stolen. They can be seen, by request. It's really fun to look at them and see the prices of items of almost 100 years ago.

Ogle’s outhouse was a family project; we had lots of fun building it.

You might be surprised at the number of people who have driven past and stopped to look at it and number of positive comments we've had.

I'm sure Harry likes it because he tells a lot of people about it and he has received positive comments on it also."

Return to the Ogle's Outhouse

Return to the Ogle's Outhouse

STEVE MENKE'S COMMENTS ABOUT...

The Design and Construction of Ogle's Outhouse

"Not really sure why, but I thought of building an old-looking outhouse - just for looks.

I have a woodworking shop in the building behind Harry Ogle’s house. This is the same building where Walter “Smokey” Alston had his wood shop and it was a gathering place for all the old timers of those days.

My original intention was to build the outhouse in the workshop and then place it on my property.

Darrtown native, Steve Menke, contributed the commentary above, in May, 2021.