Calling the hogs was a familiar sound in the old days in the rural South. Nowadays, hog calling is just one form
of old-time hollerin’ that’s celebrated every year around this time at a contest in Spivey’s Corner, North Carolina.
I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont. At the National Hollerin’ Contest, you’ll
hear some pretty authentic animal calls.
(Wolf howl)
Before people get down to serious hollerin’, there are usually some preliminary events, such as the whistling
competition…
(Whistling)
There’s a children’s contest. This girl demonstrates how she calls her grandaddy for (Girl calling grandaddy for
supper)
And there are always candidates with humorous entries, such as this “ticklin’ holler”…
(Ticklin’ holler)
But hollerin’ is serious business for many of the contestants at the national competition. They go to Spivey’s
Corner to honor and preserve the very real tradition of hollering, which was an important way of communicating
from farm to farm in the days before phones, faxes and e-mail. Our special thanks to the Library of Congress’
Local Legacies Project. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with
additional support provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.