The sweet aroma of cotton candy and hotdogs saturated the pioneer holiday air as the Frank family entered Draper Park.

Tension mounted as they sauntered by the small rodeo and the horse-pull competition already in progress.

The charred sod on the little league field from the blazing noonday sun only intensified the feeling of anxiety for the challenge that lay only moments away.

The greased-pig contest.

Down the third baseline lay the manmade course.

Red-ribbon barriers seemed to fence in not only the swine soiree that would be unfolding, but also the eager men and boys participating in the event as the pig was prepped.

Some people were charged with riling up the pig, while others were to apply a shortening salve to the hog's hide.

"The secret is to run behind a few people and let them get all the grease off," Brandon Frank, 23, a junior from Draper, Salt Lake County, majoring in construction management said to his younger brother Ryan.

As the brothers approached the starting line with the rest of the brood in their age division, they realized that the time for the riotous chase was close at hand.

The sound of the cap gun shattered the looming silence and the pig-chasers were off.

The Frank brothers followed their own advice and waited on the sidelines while others dove at the lubed pig.

They waited for just the right moment to make their move.

"Wait," Brandon Frank said. "Wait."

Ryan couldn't wait anymore.

He was the first of the two brothers to launch at the pig.

He vigorously wrestled with the hog only to be flung off moderately greased himself.

The older and more patient brother continued to wait for the perfect moment to strike.

As he lunged at the hindquarters of the pig, he knew he had won.

Grease and squeals permeated the landscape as Brandon Frank grappled with the animal.

Before too long Brandon Frank came away from the battle victorious.

After his victory, the Frank family kept the pig as a pet for a while only to be slaughtered later to supply a few hardy meals.

One may ask, "How do you win a greased pig contest?" Brandon Frank says, "Basically, whoever catches the pig and holds on gets it."

Sober advice from a true sportsman.

Another Pioneer Day tradition was fulfilled for the Frank family.

"I'm sure the pioneers were involved in several greased pig contests on their way out west," Brandon Frank said. "It's just nice to pass on the traditions."

Copyright Brigham Young University 23 Jul 2002