Boxcar Children

On Sunday, I finished reading The Boxcar Children to Joseph. It was our first chapter book together, so it was pretty exciting to finish.

As I was reading, I had a lot of questions. Perhaps someone who knows more of the Greenfield/Silver City area can answer them for me.

• First and foremost . . . where did the kids use the bathroom?
• Wouldn't it have been really stuffy to sleep in the boxcar with the door closed?
• How did they end up in the town right next to their estranged grandfather? Like, did someone just drive them from their parents' funeral to the bakery and say, "I'm tired of listening to Benny's questions. Find your way from here."
• Why stop at Silver City if they're trying to get as far from Grandpa Alden as possible?
• Why had they never met their grandpa before? They think he won't like them because he didn't like their mom. Maybe he didn't like their mom because their mom never let them go visit him.
• Why did they sleep on pine needles? I've been curious my whole life and I've never found any soft enough to sleep on.
• Is it actually possible for children to like turnips? (Or, in other words, was Violet real or just an alien who came along to protect the other children and then pretend to be sick when it was getting too hard?)
• Were dumps, like, safe back when this was written? Had tetanus not been invented yet?
• Why didn't Watch run back to his owner that he liked so much after his foot was healed?
• Why oh why oh why did Dr. Moore let them keep at it for so long? Their poor grandpa must have been worried sick about them and he's all, "Camping is fun for kids! Sure beats real beds, real bathrooms, and real food!" What a doctor.
• How did Henry win a race against boys who had trained all year? I don't think that's plausible, especially given his diet.
• How were they planning to stay educated? It's not like they could have gotten library cards.
• While we're at it, did they have any long term plans? What were they going to do in the winter?
• When they finally get rescued by their grandpa, the book describes their new bedrooms. Benny's has a train. Violet's has flowers. Jessie's has room for Watch. What about Henry's? Was his not cool at all?
• Why couldn't they just go visit the boxcar instead of bringing it across town to become an eyesore in the backyard?

I loved this book so much as a kid. And I still love this book so much, even if it doesn't seem like it.

I just want these minor plot points cleared up.