All Hail the King!

The barrow show is actually the opening event of Hog Days...held on Wednesday evening before the start of all the other weekend activities on Friday. It could well be the most significant aspect of our celebration because it was actually the starting point over 60 years ago of what eventually grew into Hog Days! In 1947, September 20th to be exact, there are accounts of a one-day celebration in Kewanee involving a showing of the best pigs with a dance held later that evening where the grand champion pig was exhibited and crowned "King Hog." (For more, go to our History page)

King Hog honors went to a 289 pound Crossbred hog owned by 14 year old Bryce Walters of Tampico, Ill.  (see photo to right)  Bryce is the son of Randy and Jan Walters. This barrow was also the Grand Champion at the Bureau County 4-H Fair earlier in the summer of 2008.

14 year old Josh Link of Galesburg, Il. received Reserved Grand Champion honors with his 302 pound Crossbred barrow. Grand champion Pair of Barrows went to 7 year old Jaidyn Miller of Annawan, Il with Bryce Walters receiving Reserved Grand Champion Pair honors.

Other class winners included: Jamie and Lilly Allicks of Wyanet, Il.; James Dobbels of Cambridge, Il.; and Brandon LeSage of Kewanee, Il.

Judge for the event was Jonas McGrew of Good Hope, Il, a graduate of Black Hawk East and Western Illinois University.

This was the 21st barrow show to be held at the Blackhawk East College Campus, sponsored in part by the BHE Applied Sciences Department and the Hog Festival Committee.   We no longer do a dance after the show but the winning pig is given a place of honor near the front of the annual Hog Days parade! 

In 2004, the Black Hawk East Foundation, noting that some people were getting "boared" with the event, decided to "ham" things up by adding a celebrity showmanship contest.  Five local "personalities" were recruited and given the opportunity to herd barrows shown earlier in the evening through the arena. The contest was a success and is now part of the program! For 2008, Jill Milroy, executive Director of the Kewanee YMCA was voted the people's choice for Best Showman. Other local personalities in the contest included: Dan Breedlove of Breedlove's Sporting Goods, Dave Clarke of the Kewanee Star Courier,  Kristin Keane of Kewanee Hospital and Bob McKee of WKEI Radio. The overwhelming advice from the audience to the celebrities was: "Don't give up your day jobs!"