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Spitoon use in the Appalachians in the 40s?

p51

One Too Many
Messages
1,119
Location
Well behind the front lines!
Got these today from eBay. Those ashtrays were used in the 40s, though I'm not sure if spitoons were used that late. Does anyone know?

$_57.jpeg This is for my model railroad layout which takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1943.
I mean, this is the area where people were still using outhouses as late as the 1970s and 80s. Still, I do not want to use something if it is anachronistic.
 
Messages
10,584
Location
Boston area
Got these today from eBay. Those ashtrays were used in the 40s, though I'm not sure if spitoons were used that late. Does anyone know?

View attachment 237001 This is for my model railroad layout which takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1943.
I mean, this is the area where people were still using outhouses as late as the 1970s and 80s. Still, I do not want to use something if it is anachronistic.

I remember when the cuspidors/spittoons were fInally removed from the House Chambers in Washington, D.C., in the 1980s!
 

Woodtroll

One Too Many
Messages
1,263
Location
Mtns. of SW Virginia
Got these today from eBay. Those ashtrays were used in the 40s, though I'm not sure if spitoons were used that late. Does anyone know?

View attachment 237001 This is for my model railroad layout which takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1943.
I mean, this is the area where people were still using outhouses as late as the 1970s and 80s. Still, I do not want to use something if it is anachronistic.


It would be my guess that they still were fairly prevalent in this area in the 40s, because growing up in the 60s and 70s, they were still present in some of the sit-around-the-stove-and-talk hardware and general stores in our area. The lower-class places just had a box of sand under the stove, which seemed to encourage spitting on the stove itself. :eek:

As far as outhouses, I won't go so far to say they are still common, but I do know of several still in use in this part of our county. If maintained properly, they're not too bad, just cold/hot/spidery. WAY better than the "pit toilets" you find in some state and USFS recreation areas.
 
Messages
10,584
Location
Boston area
It would be my guess that they still were fairly prevalent in this area in the 40s, because growing up in the 60s and 70s, they were still present in some of the sit-around-the-stove-and-talk hardware and general stores in our area. The lower-class places just had a box of sand under the stove, which seemed to encourage spitting on the stove itself. :eek:

As far as outhouses, I won't go so far to say they are still common, but I do know of several still in use in this part of our county. If maintained properly, they're not too bad, just cold/hot/spidery. WAY better than the "pit toilets" you find in some state and USFS recreation areas.

Around the pond in northern Vermont where my little cabin is, some of the neighbors are downright competitive about who has the nicest/coolest/cleanest outhouse. Others don’t give a err.... hoot.
 

Tiki Tom

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,398
Location
Oahu, North Polynesia
Yep. Maybe this belongs under “vintage things that have disappeared” topic. When I was a kid in the 1960s, we used to rent a cabin that had an outhouse. Haven’t seen a real outhouse in years... portopotties don’t count.
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,755
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Outhouses are still very common here. We have a lot of back-to-the-land, off-the-gridder types who use them. I've been in houses that even had outhouses built into the house, where a running-water bathroom would be.
 

earl

A-List Customer
Messages
316
Location
Kansas, USA
When I was an undergrad in South Dakota in the early 70's, did an internship in the state legislature. At that time, there were still spittoons by each legislator's desk. Those were still "wild west" days there than with much partying going on. Not surprising to see the then lieutenant governor show up at the local watering hole and party on. Of course, this was the same guy that rode his horse up the capitol steps into the building.
 

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