September 17, 2010 - Indiana, Illinois, and the Two Story Outhouse

Another beautiful travel day with some beautiful sights along the way.  We took mostly back roads (are they any other???) and enjoyed see all the farms and watching some of the harvesting.

Some of the sites along the way in Indiana:

 

 

How about those colors!

The granaries:

How about all this corn!:

Every so often we find these little gems along the road to stop and have lunch.  This was a small park on the Indiana/Illinois border:

And into Illinois:

And even more harvesting:

 

To see miles and miles of farmland – incredible!  America’s Heartland!!

We stopped in Gays, Illinois to see the historic two story outhouse.  Yes, folks, this is not a replica.  There is even an official blue highway sign pointing the way to the outhouse.

A little history and info:

“Built in 1869 for by Samuel Gamill for his general store and the apartments which were located on the second floor.The set up gave the people living in the apartments a private place away from the general store customers and made it so they did not have to go down stairs to use the privy. The holes on the top level are set back further than the ones on the ground level and are hidden by a false wall in the lower level.

The store was torn down in 1984, but the outhouse was carefully spared. Gays had been promoting it as a tourist attraction since the 1960s.

The outhouse stands today, on a patch of green grass in a little park. It's in fine shape, thanks to the late Gene Goodwin, president of Gays' village board, who championed its preservation. The park is named after Gene, according to its sign, "in memory of a devoted promoter of the Historical Two Story Outhouse." He reportedly wanted to build a stairway so that visitors could admire the view from the second floor, but that hasn't happened. The outhouse is padlocked to keep out vandals and those who might be tempted to fully experience this interactive structure.

The structure was the object of a song written by country singer Jim Conner which focused on how the contraption could safely accommodate two people. The concluding lyrics: "Perhaps a secret passage leads down to the drain. But some say - No, the puzzle is in just how you must aim."

The billboard with the outhouse poem stands at the center of the park, displaying press clippings and town notices under glass. These give voice to those who are not here to speak for the outhouse. "The young people," reads one, "hardly know anything about these little structures and have no understanding of the lifestyle that went with them." "Outhouses," asserts another, "were once an important part of everyday life and their historical contribution should be recorded for prosperity.[sic]"

An American flag on a pole flaps impressively, but it's part of a memorial for 21-year-old Cole Spencer, "American by Birth, Patriot by Choice," who died in Iraq. “

   

The outhouse when it was attached to the store and apartments:

 

  

The memorial:

 

What must have been the storefronts of the town in its heyday:

 

Check out this door front – not sure of the meaning????

It looks like it may have been a neat little town  - :-))). 

We continue to Taylorville, Illinois, where we are staying at a Wal-Mart.

I will leave with a poem from the Two-Story Outhouse:

Stats:

Miles Traveled: 340 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Indiana: US-33; SR-15; US-6; US-35; US-421; US-24

Illinois: US-24; I-57; SR-16; SR-29

(Told you we meandered – :-))