Three holes are better than one or two.
Such luxury! Who has the best three-holer outhouse in town? Why it’s the King House Museum and Barn. The commodious structure seats two adults and a child comfortably together. Refined and in the Greek Revival style, the outhouse has two windows and a plastered interior which was later wall-papered. It was built in the 1820s or 1830s for Horace King (1771-1855), a first cousin of Alexander King (1737-1802). Horace bought the property in 1809 and lived there until his death. Horace and his wife, Anna Prior King (1773-1858), had five children. Despite its large capacity, there could have been a line-up at the outhouse door.
This year, the outhouse was looking crappy – not literally. It just needed some sprucing up. But the Suffield Historical Society, who owns the property, had volunteers who plunged in to the task. Rose and Tim McNeely wasted no time when they signed up for the job. They cleaned the outhouse’s interior, painted the exterior, and landscaped the area around it. And now it’s beautiful but open only for inspection, not use.
The Society overflows with volunteer opportunities. But unfortunately, it is not flush with volunteers. Docents, cemetery interpreters, ice cream scoopers, bakers, technical advisors, tree pruners and umbrella holders are just a few of the volunteer jobs which need to be filled. It is a guarantee that volunteers will be privy to all the best jobs available!
Stop by the last Estate and Barn Sale on Saturday, September 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. And come soon to visit the King House Museum and Barn because tours, which occur on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m., end for the year on September 28.
If interested in volunteering, please send an email to SuffieldHistoricalSociety@gmail.com or call Jackie Hemond, 860 539-7367.