Chez MacArthur – part one
March 27/2022
My father Mac always had a fondness for toilets. To my recollection they used to be almost like his personal library.
My brothers and I had purchased a vacation property in the Muskoka area. We’re in the process of developing it.
It was a wild place to begin with. We cleared out areas to set up our tents, made an area for a cooking fire and built a somewhat rustic kitchen near the fire. We also constructed the single hole outhouse much to my father’s delight. We christened it Chez Mac because we all expected he was going to be the primary occupant.
We had many wonderful times but decided to proceed with putting in a driveway and building a substantial cabin on the side of a hill overlooking the lake. My father, without our knowledge, purchased a composting toilet as his donation to the project.
The builder of the cabin however suggested that we do the project right, even though the cost would be much higher. We now had a driveway, electricity, and a septic bed that was quite substantial but very environmentally friendly.
We had a submersible pump in the lake. The incoming line for the pump was heated to prevent it from freezing in the winter.
We had a propane hot water tank bathtub shower and sinks in both bathroom and kitchen. This is very civilized and much easier than our camping days.
Unfortunately, my father’s rather expensive composting toilet was relegated to a storage area underneath our new cabin.
He was very disappointed, but did not complain too much, since we promised to build a fancier outhouse right on the shore of the lake. This would be a magnificent, nonpolluting home for his composting toilet. He was excited about this proposal.
End of part one.