In 2005, my husband and I found ourselves the owners of the family property, 160 acres, an old hog farm. We spent the next year sketching home floor plans on notebook paper and repairing damage done to the hilltop. The next several years my weekdays were spent as librarian in a small elementary school and weekends were spent at the land with my John-Deere-tractor-driving husband building our house, fencing a few acres for horses, and collaborating with the Missouri Department of Conservation for tree stand improvement to restore much of the forest for wildlife.
A few years ago, after surviving breast cancer, I used my skills as a librarian to research and develop my own handcrafted soaps as part of my effort to avoid several chemicals present in commercial products. I invited a very scientific, creative friend out to my back porch where we gossiped, made soap, and dreamed up the name of Howling Hog. My family loved the soap. Almost immediately, bars of my soap made their way into the school mailboxes of my teacher friends as thank yous and encouragements and into the birthday and holiday gifts of other friends and extended family. And, the rest, as they say, is Hog History :) |
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