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Where HOGGERS came from

“In a previous issue of the NEWS I asked if there was any truth to the rumor that the term HOGGERS, which subsequently became the mascot of the school, was a term created by members of the Class of ’70. I have been pleasantly surprised by the many responses I have received—some of which I can actually print in this column!

By the end of this column I am sure that you will agree that the Mount Hermon Class of 1970 did in fact spawn the term HOGGERS. Although there is some discrepancy as to the exact time and place of the origin, there is enough commonality in the stories to be convinced of the facts. Peter Huntsman writes that the answer to the question is an astounding “Yes”. He recalls that some of the ‘cooler members’ of the class (Peter says that at the time he was somewhere between a ‘nerd and a dweeb’) were looking at an old ski poster hanging in a classmates room. It sounds like it might have been Hogback Mountain (I use the term ‘mountain’ very loosely); a small ski area located about 25 miles from campus. One of those ‘cool’ guys exclaimed; “This school is the Hog” and as far as Peter is concerned, the rest is history. In short order, hog-like nicknames became a big part of the Class of ’70 to include: Bruce “Hot-Hogger” Berk, Jim “Rabbit Man of Hog” Eckert, Tom “Mongoose Man of Hog” Kastner, Collins “Mantis Man of Hog” Lein and George “Bush Man of Hog” Turner. Peter recalls that Tom Green was the first person he actually heard yell GO HOGGERS at an athletic event. Bruce Berk and Vitz Chute both sent confirmation that they felt strongly that members of our class were responsible. Vitz seemed to think that it began in the Cottages, possibly sophomore year, when someone looked at the Chapel as a symbol (use your imagination) and since it was in the center of campus and on a high precipice the term Mount Hog was created. Over time the nickname of the school was shortened to simply The Hog so it was only natural that those attending The Hog would be termed Hoggers! One name that comes up consistently as either an instigator, one of the creators or someone who could shed some light on this subject is Eugene “Geno” Ward but I have not been able to reach him. As things evolved, Bruce and a few others remember the Hot Hogger Award (apparently I never won!) becoming a much anticipated weekly tradition. Bruce remembers carving a wooden totem where the weekly winners name would be carved. I am having a bit of difficulty getting a handle on exactly who picked the weekly winner. I also don’t know what one did to qualify for this honor but I don’t think I will pursue it much further at this point, if you get my drift. If you have any further insight into how our class helped create HOGGERS or if you have any other news please contact me at your earliest convenience or make an entry on our class page on the NMH web site.”

Further “Hogger” Origin Input

I have received the following input as a result of the posting above.
Feel free to add to this or send your comments to Neil Kiely at: neil@marketinginmotion.com

Peter Horne '71 April 24, 2008

I just looked at your class page on the NMH web site. What great recollections!

Some of your class will remember me, both from band and choir, and from being in the same math classes as a lot of you.

At any rate, my own recollection of the HOG was that it was indeed a reference to some "in" group within your class. There was no official sports mascot, and teams were merely called "Big Red". Deerfield was the the arch-rival and known simply as "The Green". My freshman and sophomore years (your sophomore and junior years) tradition somewhat ruled the weekend before Thanksgiving with bedsheets hanging from the cottages announcing support for red and disdain for green. By fall of 1969 this had started to wane, and I don't recall anything other than cross country running torches around campus in fall of 1970.

As for use of the term HOG, I could be wrong here (after all I spent sophomore year banished to Overtoun, like every other second year sophomore) but I had the impression a certain floor in Crossley was referred to as the HOG and its residents as HOGGERS, at least at the start of your junior year. By the end of that year the entire Hermon campus was referred to as The HOG by many students, and by nearly everyone during your senior year. It was something of a counter-tradition, being in the era of "don't trust anyone over 30" etc.

But speaking of tradition, for anyone whose tenure on the HOG spanned spring 1970, I think the one standout event was Sacred Concert. For awhile it had threatened to become a parody of itself until student leaders met with Glynn Jones to turn it into an expression of solidarity against the expansion of the Vietnam War. Cynacism, the schizo "day of action", "earth day" (was that the first one?) - all seemed to me to miss the mark but Sacred Concert put a collective focus on things and gave back meaning to the years your class spent there.

In contrast to that my last year was nice, but more like a consolation game. By spring we were just an afterthought as two schools struggled to become one. Before we even graduated we felt a bit unwelcome - we were the old, and had to make way for the new. Not even twenty we had to feel what those over thirty must have felt the year before.

-- Being that it is now free agent season for the NFL recall that our classes swapped a couple students. Dave Barradale advanced from our class to yours while Dave Hawley stayed for a fifth year and graduated in my class. To that I can only say............Fiddlesticks!

Peter Horne
MH '71

Mark Andrew, 07/31/07

I just looked at the class of 1970 "blog" on the NMH website and read some of the recollections of the term "hoggers".

My opinion is that the origin was somewhere between Dixey Witzel, Spencer May and Freeman. I think all had a part in the original "festering" of the moniker. Definitely sophomore year in Overton.

Gene “Geno” Pena ’72, 7/26/07

I am not sure who came up with the name ,but the school did adopt it . We had hog decals on our football helmets in the fall of 1971

Steve Chiasso. 7/25/07

Hi all,
I’ll be traveling down to Cape Cod this Thursday to visit Lincoln Baxter (the only ex-Hogger I’ve really kept up with over the years), and wanted to add this bit of lore to the Hogger legacy. Junior year, he and I, together with sophomore Hud Bunce (yup - that was his real name) formed the First Hog Blues Band -- so named because we believed we were just that. I still have an old American Tourister suitcase with the initials FHBB emblazoned in fading magic marker...

Alex Lotocki de Veligos. 7/25/07

Good research work. Over the last couple years I was getting complimentary plastics hogs and wrting pads from NMH with "Hoggers' or "Go Hoggers" inscribed. I was wondering how this term from the past had somehow gone legit.

I, for one, clearly remember the term of art from our freshman year. I recall the rowdier element of Cottage 1 (now called "London House" for the last 30 years at NMH) used the term repeatedly, notably David Tobler, Spence May and Chris Cotton (may their souls rest in peace). I think that Bruce and Vitz could search their memory banks for confirmation. Quite the cottage we had; fewer made it over our four years than any other cottage I believe. I still remember Tobler, playing with Hal McCann's plastic model car that was on top of the fireplace mantle. (Tobler was a star frosh wrestler for Coach McCann, but had a tendency for breaking a lot of things in the dorm). Tobler was playing with the car, saying "let's see how fast this baby can go across the floor!". Hal comes out of his apartment saying, "Tober: you break that car and I'll break YOU"!

That's my contribution. Good to hear other people. The internet makes communication a whole lot easier. Keep up the good research.

Cheers, Alex

Gene Ward email to Don Melson and his response 7/2/07

Don,

I have attached Neil's column as well as a link to his comments re: origination of the term "The Hog" and "Hoggers." I believe the comment was made by me in your room in Overton in sophomore year...I roomed with John Durbrow on the first floor for awhile and also roomed on the fourth with someone who left school in mid-year. At any rate, I think that's where the term was born. Does that sound right to you?

Gene

Gene,

Many great events occurred in Overton 403 during 1967-68. For example,

During the first day of Sophomore year when there were 8 or 9 of us sitting in the room and a fresh new face appeared in the doorway. Kligerman asked in a very proper English accent: "And who might you be?". My name is Richard. "Richard what?" Richard POPPER". (Much laughter. "And where might you be from, Richard?" ...Nashua. (More laughter.) Right after that I remember either You or Jeff Vandervice making early morning snorting grunts and "SOO-EEE" kinds of pig sounds to "Nash-WAA".
I remember the Bic pen spit ball fights that Berk and I had every night at 9:15 that pissed off Steve Chaisson because there were so many wet wads on his bed afterwards.
I remember recording Dan Petrie singing Purple Haze in the right track of my Panasonic stereo tape recorder to the Jimi Hendrix instrumentals playing in the left track.
And (drum roll) with 99% certainty I remember you as the first to coin the terms The Hog and Hoggers during Sophomore year. Did you ever on your best day think that YOU would be the SUPREME HOG, chief of all the little Hoggers to follow?

So, are you going to go public or do you want me to expose you?

Don

Steve Chiasso. 7/8/07

Hi Neil,

This story has the ring of truth to it. I’m not sure we can ever nail this down with 100% certainty, but I’m 100% certain nobody else can make a stronger claim. All we need to do now is put together a narrative, outlining the history as we know it, that we can publish in the News. I’d nominate Dan Petrie for that assignment, assuming we can track him down! Hey, could you send me Don Melson’s email address? I’d love to drop him a line.

Steve Chiasson

Hap Schadle. 7/11/07

Neil,

My first memory of the Hog or Hoggers term goes back to a JV baseball bus ride in ’69. We were all bitching about what we could or couldn’t do at Hermon at the time and we came around a bend and you could see the campus in the distance. Dixie Witzel who was always a good wit and sarcastic as hell yelled out ”there she is, Mt. Hog”. From other class comments, Dixie probably wasn’t the first to coin the term – but first time I heard it. The term definitely started out as a derisive nick name for the school. It amuses me that it went from that to a term of endearment.

Hap

My Dear Old Friend 6/19/07

I do believe that the Class of 1970 was the origin of the term.

However, I attribute it to the late great Ron Landry. I know I heard it first from him and I can still see him shouting it out in that endearingly crazed way of his.

Chester Winkowski ‘71

Bob Horne . 6/6/07

Neil-
I also believe class of 70 was responsible as I never heard the term when I first got to MH in 1967 and it didn’t seem to get any real pick up until 69 /70. So make the claim that 70 responsible and see if anyone i.e. class of 69 disputes!

Jim Boak . 6/6/07

Hi Neil:
My sense of the origin of Mount Hog as a nickname for the school is that in the seat of negativism, the triple on the third floor of Cottage 1, Rich Van Tassel coined the expression during our freshman year. In those days Hog was yet another pejorative euphemism for p****, hence the link between negativism and the origin. Subsequently, Tom Kastner, et al., popularized and glamorized the _____________ of Hog, or more generically, Men of Hog. So it began as an insulting nickname, but later became an endearing one, eventually becoming the mascot.

Incidentally, some of my friends from South Kent, rather enviously I think, referred to Mount Hermon as simply Hog Farm.

Dick Girard . 6/6/07

Neil.
Just to set the record straight, the term Mt. Hog was first spoken by a disgruntled sophomore named Spence May who lived in Overton. Spence May left our hallowed establishment shortly after that but the name carried on in history of the school. We lost our innocence when our identification as "Hermonites" became forever, "Hoggers"

Ted Swett . 6/6/07

Neil –
Many thanks – and thanks for your work as the class correspondent. I’m sure it’s not easy. Hope to see you at the 40th
By the way, I am certain it was our class that originated the “Hoggers” expression. (That and the lavender tassels on our graduation hats are indelible parts of our legacy!. “Mount Hog,” “Mantis Man of Hog,” “Dog Man of Hog,” and “Go You Hoggers” were certainly in common usage by our senior year and probably no later than our junior year. So I was astonished several years ago to see the Hogger tee-shirts and hats advertised by the Student Store. Funny how an irreverent send-up somehow acquired a quasi-official life of its own. If there is to be further research into the origins of the terms, I suggest that Athan Bilias and Jamie Melton be consulted.

Biff Watso. 6/6/07

The class of '70 invented the term "GIVE". Tom Durwood had the bes.
delivery. I'm not sure about Hogger, though it was definitely in us.
by '70

Jan May . 6/9/07

Neil-
I believe the term "hogger" originated with D. Spencer May. His locker was next to mine in the gym and he would very often refer (somewhat irreverently I might add)to "Mount Hog" and his fellow football players as "the Hoggers". It was the first time I heard that expression. If I remember correctly, he left around junior year. He was from somewhere near Cape Cod so maybe somebody can find him and get the full story.