Whoa, baby! That was some pig! Actually, I don't know whether the
pig was so big, or if my great-great-grandfather, Palestine, was so
small. He was a little guy, but nonetheless, this was one truck load of
a pig. The photo was taken on our family's homestead farm in
Howard Co., Indiana probably some time in the 1920's. Grandpa Pal,
looking dapper, was all dressed up, fit to kill, to pose with his beauty.
He looks mighty proud, indeed.
This is me, along with my uncle, "The Bach", on a visit to the old
homestead farm a few years ago. I think we are standing at the same
corner of the barn where Pal was standing with his prized pig, nearly
ninety years ago.
ninety years ago.
Pigs are big! My mother used to talk about having been charged by a pig when she was a child. Scared her mightily.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it wonderful, though, to have that kind of continuity in your life - to pose for a photo with your uncle, right where your great-grandfather posed? I'm envious.
Hey Willow. Loved the picture and continuity. I read pigs are smarter than dogs. Tomorrow night, I am posting a ghost story in honor of Friday the 13th. There will be a link to others also posting their ghost stories.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great picture! Pigs are fascinating critters but keeping one for a pet could run into serious money when it came to feed.
ReplyDeleteWow--that IS one big pig! Joe and I were just discussing how, even to do outdoor work, our male ancestors always seemed to be dressed in 3-piece suits. I have a photo of my great-grandfather in a shirt and vest, "workin' on the railroad." You sure don't see that now, do you! How wonderful that you have that fabulous photo, Willow! And what a cute one of you and your uncle.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to say! What a porker. It reminds me of All Creatures Great and Small when Mrs. Pumphrey bought herself a piglet for a pet and named him Nugent. Needless to say, he became to big for the house rather quickly.
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, what a piggie! Great images :)
ReplyDeleteWhen you said dressed to kill I thought you meant dressed to kill the the pig! Then I thought... not in his best glad rags.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing, there is a character down at the gate who looks like he is taking a pee!
Happy Days
That pig is huge! People were not so big back in those days, but the pigs were certainly plenty big. Nice that your family has the old homestead still. We had a "bach" uncle, too.
ReplyDeleteWow! That is one huge hog. I hope your great-grandfather was on his way to a blue ribbon at the county fair.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo. It is wonderful to have photos to back up oral family history. So many families don't.
WOW! That's a huge pig. If it is that size, is it considered a hot?
ReplyDeleteThat is a great historical picture and the followup with your uncle---perfect.
That's a might fine pig and big enough to be a walking billboard. Which now has me thinking there was some company that used to have a logo that showed a pig with writing on the side of it. Hmmmm...anybody remember what the piggie logo was for? Pigs are such fascinating animals and much smarter than most politicians.
ReplyDeleteBig Pig....
ReplyDeleteI thought you were saying dressed to kill the pig also !
Sir Winston Churchill quote
" I like pigs.
Dogs look up to us,
Cats look down on us
Pigs treat us as equals "
I like pigs also ;)
man, that's a big pig -
ReplyDeleteThat is some might pig. They can get huge indeed and the fact that your grandfather stands behind him would help in the dwarfing impression.
ReplyDeleteHoly Pork Chop. That is one Greyhound of a swine. Grandpa deserves to be proud!
ReplyDeleteI know its all about the pig but I love the words from Edna St. Vincent Millay, from New England Spring. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHe's a fine chap alright. We had friends who had a pig it was beautiful, friendly . . we were devastated to find it had been butchered for Christmas! Lovely that you have such old photos . .I have very little of my grandparents or great grandparents.
ReplyDeleteWillow,
ReplyDeleteZat is one huge porker!
rel
That's a heck of a load of bacon your Grandpa had there!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the post and the pictures.
Greetings from London.
I have to agree that is a huge pig and I love how you connect the past with the present. Such a great way to do that. You are so lucky to be able to know your families past like that. I think many of us would love to be able to do this. God bless.
ReplyDeleteVery cool pix-- the pig & your great-grandfather in his Sunday best is a photo with lots of aura, & as others have said, fun to see you & yr uncle later posing in the same spot.
ReplyDeleteThat must have supplied enough salted pork and bacon for a hungry family for the winter! Imagine the squealing at the slaughter.
ReplyDeleteYep, that's one massive animal! The way the ground must have shaken when he walked, its a wonder the barn is still there! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I love that old barn. Nicely weathered with nice windows.
ReplyDeleteNow that was a "big pig" Willow.
ReplyDeleteWe had one when the kids were young
they named Ted.They would ride him!
My sister came to visit, she told my Dad that I had a "watch hog"!
I love the "ninety" years later pic!
That's really special!!
Carol
W O W
ReplyDeletethat's all I can say
What a wonderful collection of memories you have of your family and the proud events they share.
ReplyDeleteMmmmmmmmmmm.. pork chops.
ReplyDeleteThat pig looks gigantic!
ReplyDeleteI envy you for having pictures of your great-great-grandfather, that is such a blessing.
Hi Willow! Love the way you tied in your love of ancestry with the theme. More so that you have snaps of it :) Simply wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWow! The pig was definitely huge!!! No doubt about it! :-)
ReplyDeleteso wonderful to have the old photo. I love his name: Palestine. And I guess Pal is a good nickname too for that somewhat heavy name. I like the way your circle round too with the photo of you at the barn corner.
ReplyDeleteLove the photos - old and new - I've read that pigs can make wonderful pets but I presume that on a farm that pig was meant for better things!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the look back in time!
ReplyDeleteWhat can one say, Willow?! Except that both photos are great to have.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! No matter how small your grandpa was, that was still one heck of a pig. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteLove the pic of you and your uncle. Such loving connection between you two.
Like the others said, that is a huge pig. Wonder if your great great grandfather also had a smoke house? Mr. Pig would have fed the family for at least a year.
ReplyDeleteTHat is a killer pig! Pigs are funny. What a legacy you have...I love that my family is an old farm family too!
ReplyDeleteThe Illinois state fair used to have the biggest pig in the world every year, but then she died. She couldn't even stand up I think because she was such a fattie! That would have been some fatty bacon!
Lovely big pig... they are very smart too.. they never get much credit for that...
ReplyDeleteYour great great grandfather probably knew how to handle him and the pig probably trusted him!
and Pigs have the softest skin right behind their ears.. ours would come to the fence and stand there waiting for us to rub them there...and we could tell they enjoyed it..
Cheers from New Brunswick, Canada
wow! BIG PIG! nice follow up pic as well. fun.
ReplyDeleteLovely old photo willow. Here in the UK fifty years ago it was an honour to have a really big, fat pig to slaughter - and you always had your photo taken with it before it was killed - now we all like leaner meat.
ReplyDeleteWOw ! What a great post ! I love the "before and after" picture. It's fascinating to learn a little bit more about our family. I'm going to get married 100 years after my great grand mother (long story !) and I'm searching for picture of her. Amazing journey.
ReplyDeletehey don't build 'em like that these days - or do they?
ReplyDeleteI love the continuity of the house in both pictures. What can I say? That's a BIG pig.
ReplyDeleteThat's a mighty fine porker there! Love your great-great-grandfather's mustache, very dapper he was.
ReplyDeleteLizzy
Great TT post!
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I admire people who live and take care of a farm. Hard work :-)
peace and love
xoxo
It looks like one must get really dressed up to pose where the pig posed! A family tradition?
ReplyDeleteBoth pictures are great!!
Lyn, ha! No, not really. We had just come from a family funeral. That's why the dark, formal clothes.
ReplyDeletethat is a very nice looking pig indeed...and biggg!
ReplyDeleteReally big indeed.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures as usual
:)
Lovely photos. But, man oh man, that's a big PIG!
ReplyDeleteThats a huge one! Nevertheless a prized possession if friendly..:)
ReplyDeleteLove the pig photo !!!
ReplyDeleteI used to raise potbellies... nothing like the size of this fellow - but fabulous animals, and great pets if one has the proper facilities... They need to root!
all i can say is DITTO! everyone pretty much summed up my sentiment!
ReplyDeletehave a wonderful thursday :)
tracie
Wow! Only one word comes to mind: BACON!!!!
ReplyDeleteEven if your grandfather was small, that pig would have still been big. Wow!
ReplyDeleteWhoa, baby! is right! Great old pic. I, too, like the continuity of you and "The Bach" posing today on the same spot as Grandpa Pal so long ago. Man, what a bunch o' bacon!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love the drawing in your header! Who's it by?
ReplyDeleteThat pig sure is making a lot of bacon! I've never seen one so large.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Star
A. Decker, thanks! The dry point print in my header is by Lesser Ury.
ReplyDeleteEnthusiasts of the films of Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski (Blind Chance, Dekalog, The Double Life of Véronique, Three Colours Trilogy, etc) are invited to drop by my chatroom at the Brasserie Alizé on the anniversary of the director’s death, this coming Friday evening, 13 March 2009, from around 1800 GMT. Please pass on the invitation to others and hopefully see you there!
ReplyDeleteOh my what big PIGS you have!
ReplyDeleteIs that a hairy pig or are my eyes deciving me?
What a wonderful animal! I wonder how much macaroni cheese that one would eat?!!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to be close to your roots...farm and relatives. Something very special about staying connected to family.
ReplyDeleteThat is a damn fine pig!
ReplyDeleteWow! There's a lot of bacon on that thing!
ReplyDeletethe only time i've seen a pig bigger than this one is at the indiana state fair!! i'm sure it was fun to go back and visit the family farm.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe that pig can even stand up!
ReplyDeleteThat be a big pig!
ReplyDeleteLet me just back up the truck and haul him away.
ReplyDeletemmmmmm! I can smell the bacon already.
I love pigs. They're so cosmopolitan.
ReplyDeleteyikes!!! no shit, that was some pig.... looks like he was a downright hog!
ReplyDelete;)
great snaps...then and now....
that pig is HUMUNGOUS. holy pig!!!
ReplyDeletePalestine's Portly Piggy Ponders Posing!
ReplyDeleteLove the pic of you and the Bach...
Can I take him home?
ReplyDeleteThat is a nice shot. I love the way you composed it and captured the light.
ReplyDeleteOn my God, I've never seen a pig this big. So what happened to it, did you roast it?
ReplyDeleteWow!You could get a lot of bacon sandwitches out of that baby!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos.thanks for showing them.
Hi & Thanks for the visit!
ReplyDeleteI think it's amazing that you can trace your family back to 100 hundred years ago. :D I can only trace mine to the oldest living and most recently deceased. :p
That's really neat, but I'm afraid that big boy might eat me! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, as usual!
Sarah
i could look at your old family photos all day.
ReplyDeletei love this !!