When we three Caywood kids attended country school at Mt View, the pupils used an out door toilet for the girls and boys. The two toilets sat not far from each other and was quite a jaunt down the hill from the school house.

At each recess and at noon as we ran down the hill, we girls called out “first, second, third” and so on down the line for first privilege to use the facility. Sometimes the person who called out first was not even the first in the race, but they got their call honored anyway. Even when I was in the first grade, I was a very fast runner and usually lucky enough to get there before several of the older girls. The older girls were great to care for the smaller girls who needed help.

The boys thought it was fun to mimic us and they started mocking us running and making number calls in girly voices. Most of the boys were a lot older with the exception of Billy Thomas. He did not let his younger age bother him and joined the others in teasing us.

One thing that I always wondered about was in the four years of my schooling at Mt View; only once did I ever see a teacher go down that hill and that single event story is listed in my Humor pages.

The toilets did have a privacy wall part way around the outside of the door and was also a great place to hover when the wind blew or if it was raining or snowing. No one ever tarried there long anyway; no matter what the weather was like. It was most of the time very cold or very hot. We had the luxury of toilet paper even if it was not like we use today. Most of us used a catalog at home so it was luxurious to us anyway.

The school board members always saw to it that the privy was cleaned and painted when it was needed. This was done between school terms.

We had plenty of time to use the privy and then go play for a while during good weather and before the teacher rang the hand bell to resume classes. No one ever abused the time we were allotted for recess or noon. When the bell was rung we assembled quickly.

I wonder how students of today would handle the country style privies with no heat, no air conditioning, mirrors, sinks or paper towels to use.

I can look back on these not so easy times now as some of the happy moments of my life.