PIGGY BANK

February 25, 2007

BY DIMITRA LAVRAKAS

Frontiersman

Since moving here 15 years ago from Nebraska, the Scoresby family of Wasilla has tried raising several kinds of animals.

Turkeys didn't really take - &#8220Too nasty,” commented 17-year-old Morgan Scoresby. And 13-year-old Sarah wrinkled up her nose at the memory. They tasted good, though, both agreed.

Then there were the sheep, but the expense of buying and raising them didn't pay off at the annual auction at the Alaska State Fair or at the one in Fairbanks. Plus, all of the kids were allergic to the wool.

And while they raise the calves for the petting zoo at the fair, they don't really do it on the scale that they do with pigs.

It's the pigs they took to and that took over every nook and cranny at the family homestead.

There's pigs in the barn, pigs in the garage, and a little runt, Half Pint, in the closet off the kitchen, coddled by the warmth of the water heater.

They have two different breeds of pigs - Duroc and Yorkshire. The Duroc have a distinctive dappling of spots on their hinds, but the Yorkshires - oh, think &#8220Charlotte's Web” and &#8220Babe the Pig” beauty.

But cuteness doesn't save them from the skillet.

&#8220We eat a couple of them and sell the rest,” said 15-year-old John Scoresby.

&#8220We learned at an early age they weren't pets,” said Morgan, named after her mother's favorite breed of horse.

&#8220My real love was horses,” said Mary Scoresby, who grew up on a farm in Nebraska with horses. &#8220I got married and a bale of hay was $26 - too expensive - money was needed for other things. Then 14 years ago, I was invited to join 4-H, and we started raising pigs. We started with little pigs, then we got a sow and now we have five females and one boar.”

Pigs are intelligent and pretty even-tempered, and a good sow takes care of just about every piglet's need, Mary said.

Except for the one sow that just had a dozen piglets.

&#8220She can't handle the stress of 12, she just freaks out,” Mary said.

That's why Half-Pint ended up in the closet, being hand-fed with a syringe every two hours, just like a new-born human.

&#8220She can't even handle a bottle,” said Morgan, who sheepishly admitted that Half-Pint, a Duroc and Hampshire mix, will probably end up as a pet because she will never attain normal weight and size.

Sure enough, visiting the mom in the barn, she seemed overwhelmed by the remaining piglets, almost squashing one against the wall - truly a desperate porcine housewife.

The Scoresby children get to keep the money earned from raising their prize-winning pigs and calves, and it goes right into a college savings account. Two older siblings are already off at university from their earnings.

There's more of a payoff than money, Morgan said. That's knowing where your food comes from.

&#8220My friends aren't too thrilled about a farm, but not only does it teach you how to work hard, but how to raise your own food,” said Morgan. &#8220It's sad when people don't know that.”

Contact Dimitra Lavrakas at 352-2269 or

valleylife@frontiersman.com.