A Greased Pig Contest
posted by on 10/11/06
The chilly morning air was filled with excitement as I rounded the corner of the old Salem Post Office. It was Saturday, October 7, and I was about to witness one of the enjoyable traditions of the annual Salem Apple Butter Festival. Up ahead I could hear the cheers of the many family and friends that had gathered to watch their “younguns” attempt to catch a greased pig!
My younger brother David was in the line-up with his friend Joshua Pitcock. They waited with anticipation for the countdown to begin. “Ten, Nine, Eight…”, everybody in the crowd was joining in now, “…Five, Four, Three…”, the runners poised for action, “…Two, One, Go!” And they were off!
The pounding feet, the squealing pig, the cheering crowd all added to the mayhem. I couldn’t help but
chuckle as the poor little pig dove between legs and squeezed through one pile-up after another, barely avoiding capture.
Finally
they got the tired little pig cornered next to a fence. One young fellow quickly jumped on his back and wrapped his arms tight around the greasy pig. Hooray! Everyone applauded. David wasn’t the winner this time but he and Joshua had enjoyed themselves.
Our cousins from PA were visiting
for the weekend and had come down to watch the excitement. Grandpa and Grandma were also there to cheer David on. Pictured to the right is Uncle Wayne, Cousin Chris, Jonathan, Daniel, and Cousin Tim.
I, for one, enjoyed watching the morning festivities. And I think we’ll all be looking forward with anticipation to another great chase next year!
pictures taken by Robert Staddon
I’m sure that David enjoyed trying to catch the pig. He almost got it. It was really close.
Hey David, that looked like a lot of fun! You can just smell the grease and excitement in the pictures.
Yess!! That is awesome. I miss the good ole small towns in TN where you could do that kind of stuff and people didn’t think you were strange. Hmm, well it’s good to have your site now, this is good stuff. God bless and have a great day!
We do this in Sligo, in Ireland too. But people seem to think that only yokels do this? Guess in the case of myself, it’s if the cap fits, as I’m a bit of a WUM too! Anyway, I enjoy it, and I hope y’all do too.