Nearly a century ago, a plumber installed a toilet in a bungalow in south Minneapolis.
When the job was done, the workman took a pencil and signed his work on the inside of the toilet tank lid in a flowing cursive hand: "Otto Johnson plumber May 6, 1924."
And why not? A good craftsman is proud of his work, and indoor plumbing was still kind of a big deal back then.
It may have been the first indoor toilet to have been installed in the 1910 house in the Ericsson neighborhood near Lake Hiawatha, said the current homeowner, Alan Peters. Peters believed the original residents may have been using an outhouse before then.
Peters and his wife, Penny Marsala, bought the house in 1987, and he discovered Otto Johnson's signature when he had to take off the toilet tank lid to do a minor repair on the flapper valve.
"I was amazed to witness the pride in craftsmanship that Otto demonstrated. I felt privileged to have benefited from his work, done well and with care, so many years before," Peters said.
Respect and admiration
Over the years, Peters said, he would sometimes show the signed toilet to other workmen who came to the house.