Keeping in mind just how rural parts of the US were helps; many didn't get electricity until the 1930's or indoor plumbing as late as the 1950's. The farmhouse

Keeping in mind just how rural parts of the US were helps; many didn't get electricity until the 1930's or indoor plumbing as late as the 1950's. The farmhouse my dad grew up in didn't have indoor plumbing the first few years of his life. Of course, city folk had electricity and gas much earlier, but even today a full 1/5 of the population is outside of urban areas; it was at least that much back then.