This scene brings to mind the poem "Old Privy" by our own Walt Tornquist, which was included in his 1976 collection in a monograph entitled Sunshine and Shadows:
Old Privy
Have you grown up
Since modern plumbing came to stay?
If this is the case
You have missed the dear old privy days.
The privy in the old days
Was quite awkward at its best,
But the end product and satisfaction
Took care of all the rest.
A three-holer in the old days
Was a swanky exclusive retreat
And the old Sears Roebuck catalogue
Handled its part of the job real neat.
There was a large supply of drawbacks,
In the summer when the flies were thick
And in the winter when the ice and snow
Made the trail to the outhouse slick.
But this was pioneering,
And a trip when the wind blew hard and cold
Was a record breaking performance
Whether you were young, middle-aged or old.
I miss the dear old out house
Half hidden behind the old apple tree
Where old fashioned red and white roses
Were as fragrant as they could be.
But this is what they call progress
And sanitation thrown in to boot,
I still have a soft spot for the old privy,
I guess I’m sort of a coot!
