It's 95° here- I think of my Grandpa- he didn't have electricity, running water, etc.

[barstoolguru]

grandpa didn't have an Xbox, TV, a/c, health care, Obama, nude films, internet, power steering power brakes, cell ph...etc.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[svgheartland]

But....I don't remember them without electricity. They did have that....and that's a bunch extra

[MoMike]

My Grandpa was probably the last person in town ( notice the "in town" part ) to have an "inside outhouse".

I remember that every Halloween, he got his outhouse turned over. At least, until one year, he moved his outhouse forward three feet the night before, and covered the hole with burlap.

[Dennis1209]

When I was younger I always thought I was born 100 years too late. I always wanted to move to the sticks and rough it out on my own, I thought about Alaska.

Then I got a bad toothache one Saturday afternoon. Couldn't get a dental appointment until the following Tuesday, Monday was a holiday.

Can you imagine living back then and / or in the wilderness and getting toothaches. Having either to live with them forever, pulling them yourself or trekking to the barber/dentist/bar keep if you lived back then. And what about before dentistry?

Ever try to pull one of your own teeth because of mind numbing pain to where you can't eat, sleep or even think?

Sure is nice to live in modern times and have all the creature comforts!

[Dennis1209]

My Grandpa was probably the last person in town ( notice the "in town" part ) to have an "inside outhouse".

I remember that every Halloween, he got his outhouse turned over. At least, until one year, he moved his outhouse forward three feet the night before, and covered the hole with burlap.

Probably those city slickers from Ledbetter, Flat River and Potosi getting their kicks I grew up and spent allot of time in your area. Nice place to live!

[Geezer]

Windows and doors had screens, and were open at night. The houses had cross ventilation, a summer kitchen and a winter kitchen. A bath was a weekly event, at best. It's no wonder they had such short life expectancies. On a more positive note, they were all families - unlike today, when we just live under the same roof.

[Tangle]

But....I don't remember them without electricity. They did have that....and that's a bunch extra

You know, several have said something similar, and it got me thinking, now I'm not sure when my grandparents got electricity, but it was much sooner than I indicated.

I was thinking that because Grandma cooked on a wood stove, I watcher her do that, and because they didn't have a refrigerator that they didn't have electricity. But, now I'm thinking they did have electricity for lights. I was about 5 or 6 years old when Grandma finally got an electric stove. So I was off a little bit in the OP about when they got electricity.

I know they didn't have a refrigerator. As a matter of fact, my parents and I lived in the suburbs of Knoxville and we didn't have a refrigerator. But, we did have what was called an ice box, and an 'iceman' would come around regularly in a big 'ice truck', grab a big block of ice with ice tongs, and put it in our ice box. We had that modern convenience because we lived near the city.

[ppkheat]

Good stories and brought back a lot of memories.

Living like that, taking care of yourself, raising your own food, sure can build a lot of character and resolve.

[tclance]

We dont realize how easy we have it today. After 3-4 days hunting in a camp you sure begin to miss the comforts of home. By the way I can see the Sears catalog but a CORN COB OUCH!!!!

[archer51]

Brought back memories of my grandfather. He was a tobacco farmer in KY. I can remember going to visit before they had electricity or running water. Grandma Nell did have a hand pump in the kitchen for water. I remember many trips to the outhouse. BTW, they lived in town!

[ppkheat]

By the way I can see the Sears catalog but a CORN COB OUCH!!!!

In this order ---> Two red one's and a white one. The white one is to see if you need two more red one's.

[phreddy]

Sounds alot like my great-grandparents. I don't know when they got electricity, but everytime I remember going over there Big Granny had Lawrence Welk on the tv while she dipped peach snuff. There weren't many electric lights in the house, but she loved Lawrence Welk.

We got a small taste of this life when we went to Nicaragua at the begining of June. Of course it was only one week and we got to come home. The outhouses weren't as bad as I thought even with temp's in the low 90's. Learned real quick to take a shower after working all day and not in the morning. That cold water felt good in the afternoon, not so much at 5am.

[mprp]

The more technology tries to improve on civilian life; the less civility seems to exist.

Old people Rule!

[Eagleks]

I lived with my grandfather off and on .... preferred being there most. No utilities of any kind. Outhouse, tub outside for taking baths, candles / lamps at night (but not for long), wood burning stove and pot belly stove for winter. No telephone, no TV, etc. Sitting outside in the evenings and talking, checking out the stars and enjoying the cool breezes was the main past time in the evening. Plowed fields with draft horses, cleaned them out of weeds with hand sickles. He had 2 milk cows as well.

Things changed once the house had a bathroom and electricity... got a tractor.... it just wasn't the same after that.

[Caertaker]

Being more or less raised by my Grandmother I often wondered how they did it. I have been to our ancestrial farm in the South as a child and walked through the sharecropper houses that at the time were still standing. They were nothing more than rough sawn planks on small stone piers. No insulation, no drywall no electrical wires. My grandmother was always quick to point out that she never lived in one of those houses - but somebody did. I became fascinated by life in the "olden days" and over the years have spent many hours quizing the oldest people I could find on the subject. I am fortunate in that I still have my Grandmother's best friend to consult. I visited her a few weeks back. She is 97 years old and lives by herself in the house she and her husband built from trees cleared from the site. Although not an earthshattering revelation by any means, my main conclusion from my discussions is that you do what you have to do. You may not like it. It might not be what you would have chosen but it is your path nonetheless and there's only one only way to get through it. I think many things in life are that way.

One of the only good things to come out of the Sixties (in my opinion) was a series of books on life during earlier times. As I recall a group of sociology students encountered elders from Appalachia and realized that a way of life was becoming lost to future generations with their passing. They set about interviewing these people and documented their wisdom in what became a series of books called Foxfire. You can buy them here although I'm sure there are other sources.

Amazon.com: foxfire books complete set

I found them not only an enjoyable read but highly informative. The way I see it, the lives our ancestors led was reality, the reality of human's lives for thousands of year. Strip away our technology and it would be our reality once again. Should the SHTF it would be good to possess some of their wisdom to do what you have to do.