On most days, Howard “Waterdog” Patterson is an 84-year-old plumber from Erin, Tenn. But on Dec. 2 at Ben “Bengie” Hall’s farm, it’s time to be a butcher, a teacher and a part of something that takes place every year when the ground gets cold and the air snaps with winter – it’s hog killin’ time.

The shooting, bleeding, skinning, gutting, quartering and grinding of a grain-fed hog into sausage is a Houston County tradition. The process is one that many believe must be passed down, not taught from “The Foxfire Book.”

Children like Mathew Harper, 9, learn at a young age how to kill and quarter. When he is older, he will be taught how to season and smoke.

Waterdog’s been killing hogs “ever since he’s been in the world,” and now he passes on his knowledge to Matthew. The meat from the hog jaw will be sugar-cured, smoked for three days and made into bacon. The ribs will also be kept separate from the sausage, as well as Patterson’s two favorites – the tenderloin and the liver. “Nothin’ else is worth eatin’ but the tenderloin and the liver,” he said.

A hog killing is sort of like a family reunion, a time when fathers, sons, friends and neighbors stand around a propane heater warming their hands and telling stories outside the barn. To Ben Hall, it’s more about the process than the product. “It’s just a time for us to get together and socialize,” Hall said. “We just kill hogs when we get around to it.”

Miriam Craft is a junior photojournalism major from Pensacola, Fla. She can be reached at miriam.craft@wku.edu.