Early in 1973, (I’m not sure of the details, I was ten) a few friends got together at some point and decided they wanted to roast a pig. They weren’t sure of all the details but there was going to be a party on Labor Day weekend and the main course on Sunday afternoon was going to be roasted pig. The group (later to become “The Committee”) decided that it would be best if they could have the pig roasted by a restaurant for safety reasons. As it turned out, Charlie was Greek by heritage and had connections in town. Specifically to a local Greek restaurant. Charlie shared the committee’s plan and the restaurant was on board. Although I have no idea, I’m guessing the first pig was probably around 30 pounds. The restaurant roasted the pig and we picked it up and somehow reheated it. (There may have been a pit dug and an oven made for this process)
People brought covered dishes, Bill made pancakes (later to be know as famous pancakes including buckwheat pancakes) on Saturday morning, there was a pony keg of beer (with a wooden tap you had to hammer into it!) on ice. People set up their tents and a Labor Day weekend Pig Roast tradition was birthed.
There was swimming. There was hiking in the woods, and kids playing in the creek. There were walks to the barn to see the sheep and other animals. There was lots of good food and relaxing. Naps were taken. There was reading books, needlepoint, great conversations with friends you didn’t usually have a chance to spend real quality time with. And Euchre. We can’t forget euchre. Bill Roberts (a known euchre fanatic) was one of the founding group and there was plenty of euchre.
Over the decades (the next 38 years to be exact) the party became an event, an iconic event. The founders and almost all of the attendees were from the same church. When all the kids were school age, the church actually changed the Sunday School start date to after Labor Day because otherwise the attendance would be almost zero on Labor Day weekend. The guest list grew, some boundary rules were set up (remember, this was my parent’s private party after all) more and more traditions were established.
In the following weeks I will be sharing some favorite stories from the years of the Pig Roast. The event ended unexpectedly and we never had a final Pig Roast so there was no real closure. I loved the event and miss it sorely to this day. Sometimes Labor Day weekend goes by with just a twinge of sorrow. Sometimes it’s a very difficult weekend of loss. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend and be safe-maybe call a few friends to gather together for a good time.
My Patio 