Traditionally, hog butchering was done in cold weather so the meat wouldn’t spoil. That’s why the Eddie Mae Herron Center in Pocahontas, Arkansas, holds its annual hog-butchering event in February, when this film was made.

Through the years, communities and families butchered hogs to get through the long winter. The chill is quite a contrast to the July heat of Washington, D.C., when the Smithsonian welcomed the film’s main participants, Pat Johnson and Josh Jansen to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival to present the tradition and methods of hog butchering to the public. Their friendship reveals that communities are only made stronger when people talk to one another and when everyone takes a part.

Producers: Charlie Weber, Albert Tong, Kathy Phung

Direction and Filming: Charlie Weber, Albert Tong

Editor: Charlie Weber

Assistant Editor: Jacob Weber

Graphics: Mykal Bailey, Elisa Hough

Music: The Creek Rocks; Rachel Reynolds; St. Louis Metro Choir, Church of Christ

Special Thanks: Jessie Ballard, Sherman Ballard, Raul Blasini, Mary Clark, Mack Hackworth, Josh Jansen, Pat Johnson, Willie McCarroll, Margaret McCarroll, Kaitlyn McConnell, Tom Peters, Cindy Robinett, Curtis Shepherd, Lauren Willette, Jan Ziegler, Ken Ziegler