The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1922-02-17
UMATILLA COUNTY BOY
winner IN STATE HOG
PRODUCTION CONTESTS
Wayne Swaggart Of Athena Is
Given Credit for Best Exhibit
At Portland Stock Show.

The extension Service News, pub
lished by the Oregon Agricultural
College in the interests of co-opera-
tive extension work in agriculture,
contains the following. relative to
Umatilla county boy.
Several months ago the Portland
Union Stock Yards Company offered
a special prize to members Of boys
and girls clubs in the State who
might exhibit litter Of fat hogs at
the Pacific International Exposition.
It remained for Wayne Swaggart Of
Athena, Umatilla county, to win this
prize of $4,000 with four well-finished
big type Poland -Chinas,
One of the requirements to be met
in competing for the prize was the
preparation of story of the raising
Of the pigs entered. Wayne's story is
as follows:
"My pigs were born March A, 1921.
There were ten in this litter, six sows
and four boars.
"I started feeding very light during
the first month and then / increased
the grain from month to month so as
to grow strong frame and thus
make it possible for the pigs to carry
the weight. let them run on pas
ture until the last twenty days. al
ways kept water in their trough, pro-
vided plenty of shade. and gave them
mineral to eat to make their bones
strong.
"The names of my pigs are: George,
Ben, Link and Milton. I named them
after four of the best men | ever
knew, my father and his three broth
ers, they too, being named after great
men, George Washington, Benjamin
Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and John
Milton.
"All being Oregon bred, these pigs
are pure-bred, big-type, Poland Chi
mas, their sire and dam being regis
tered in the American PolandChina
Record Association in May.
"Mr. L. ]. Allen, State Pig Club
Agent, was here re~looking over my pigs
and said they were good enough to fit
for the Union Stock Yards special
prize, so on July 10, bought these
four barrows from my father at $500
each. At that time they weighed 81
pounds each, and now they weigh 255
pounds each.
sI had several noted visitors to see
my pigs grow. Among them were H.
P. Whitman of the Pendleton Meat
Company, Horace Adds, who is with
the Oregon Farmer; Mr.. Bennion,
County Agent and others.
"Mr. John F.. Herr. cashier of the
Athena State Bank. also visited my
pigs and stated that he would buy me
a new hat if won first in my class
at the International at Portland, and
if do not win it, surely will make
the other boys go some to beat East
ern Oregon pigs fed on wheat with al
falfa pasture"
Another requisite for competition
for this special prize was the filing o.
statement showing the cost Of rails
ing the pigs entered.
These pigs weighed total Of 33t
pounds on July 10 when the recort
was started. On October 30 when tn
record was closed they weighed to
tai of 1110 pounds, which was ne
gain in weight of TIA pounds in
feeding period of 110 days. The av
erage gain in weight for the four pig
was 7.O3 pounds and the average cos
per pound, including the initial valu
was about 5h cents. The pigs sol
at the fat-stock auction held durinI
the Pacific International Expositio
of 19K cents or q total of S144 IL