The Connection ~ Photo Journal (7 images)

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  • The hands of Sam Hummel, a young Piedmont farmer who describes himself as being "95 percent vegetarian with a weakness for baby back ribs," after carrying the body of a hog from the pen where it was killed. "Everyone should have the experience of killing and processing something they use," said Hummel. "Even if it's chopping down a tree if your building a house.".

  • After nine months of raising hogs humanely on the grounds of The Stone House near Mebane, Kevin Dessert lays a comforting hand on one as it is slaughtered. Dessert and others joined together and purchased the hogs sought to create an ecologically responsible, local food source in their community to serve as a viable alternative to the environmentally disastrous, mass-production hog industry. .

  • Hog blood clings to a knife held by Elwood Whitmore, 85, of Haw River, after killing the third hog of the day. "There was a time when everyone had a hog that had to be killed come winter time and now its down to just a few," said Justin Robinson, 27, of Durham, who sought out the elder Whitmore to learn the ancient skills necessary to render meat from such a large animal. .

  • Sherry Johnson, in red, leans in for a closer look as Elwood Whitmore cuts into the body of a hog hanging from a large tripod. "If you eat meat, you should see this," said Johnson. "Do you think they are born pork chops?".

  • Butchering a hog requires the help of many, here turning the body of a hog in water heated to 145 degrees to loosen the hair before it's scraped off for butchering. The previous night, a ceremony was held honoring the hogs with Justin Robinson, of the folk ensemble Carolina Chocolate Drops, playing "Amazing Grace" on the fiddle.

  • Tahz Walker reacts to hot water being poured over the body of hog during the process of removing the hair from it's body. Walker said the experience was a right of passage. "We're killing hogs, but at the same time we're creating part of a story that will root me in this place deeper," he said. "You can't take that away. It's been written.".

  • At 85, Elwood Whitmore possess intimate knowledge of skills necessary to survive on the land. As a descendent of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, Whitmore's presence at the hog killing also provided a deep connection to land that once sustained his ancestors..