Fargo Standard

The Barnes County Historical Society Lecture Series Season 22 Presents: Tom Askjem “Beneath the Prairie: Privy Digging” 7PM Thursday, February 16th at the Barnes County Museum. (315 Central Ave N. Valley City, ND)

My name is Tom Askjem. I'm 31 years old and live on a farm near Buxton, North Dakota. I live on the same farm which sparked my interest in history. As a kid, as young as six years old I started digging through the trash dump in the shelterbelt. I found many 7UP and Coca-Cola bottles that were left behind by the previous owners. I later found out that old outhouse sites can be a treasure trove for history. When I was about 14 my Dad was clearing the woods with a tractor when I noticed stove ashes and glass coming out of the ground. I remember reading that stove ashes were often thrown down old outhouse sites to neutralize the smell way back when. I grabbed a shovel and started digging. Sure enough, I found many pieces that dated back to the original days of the farmhouse including dishes, bottles, and many undigested seeds. After finishing that site I spoke with local farmers and got permission to dig on many of the abandoned farm sites around the area. Note that many of them have since been ripped out for farmland. When I was about 20 I met a guy who had recently moved back from Colorado. He had excavated outhouse sites there for 20 years or so. He turned out to be one of my Dad's best friends from childhood. I remembered my Dad telling me stories of the adventures etc that they had been on back in the day. He then taught me everything he knew about digging in towns. Since then I've dug roughly 1,400 sites literally from coast to coast.

The public is cordially invited

All Lectures are at the Barnes County Historical Society Museum and held in conjunction with Valley City State University.  They are free and open to the public.

For more information contact Wes Anderson at 701-845-0966Barnes County Historical Society315 Central Ave NValley City, ND 58072

Original source can be found here.