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It was the best of times: The Chairman, a King Pig, and the Brotherhood that followed
Nevada Daily Mail
I am a newly converted Hog fan. As many of you know, I now live just outside of Fayetteville, Ark. -- the home of the U of A Razorbacks. Our new puppy is named Sooiee and for the past four years I have been sending my daughter and my money to the University of Arkansas. In addition, I am now employed on a part-time basis with the college to supervise student teachers. But this is not my first Swine Rodeo...36 years ago I was a member of the famed "Brothers Pig."
The story begins
Earlier in their youth, the Cherry brothers (Dave and Doug) and lifelong friend Mark Mendenhall, as a part of the back and forth banter of adolescence, called each other "pigs." By 1979, David Cherry (aka The Chairman) came to fellow senior Mark Mendenhall with the idea of formalizing the name and transforming it into a student support squad at basketball games -- the name of the group: The Brothers Pig!
Just like corporate America, the organization had its officers. There was King Pig (Mendenhall) and Head Hog (Jeff Dade). In addition to leader and founder, Dave Cherry, there was Doc (Chris) Ellis, Chris Story, Mark Land and many others that I wish I could name. But after three decades, my memory fails.
The leaders wore designed grey T--shirts with a large Hog Head. The vast majority of followers, like fellow freshman Danny Jones, and myself, wore yellow shirts with the same emblem. Followers numbered in the hundreds.
These were the beginnings of a golden age in Nevada High School basketball. Both varsity teams were excellent. "Wall of Famer" Shelia Wynn led a girls' squad that would eventually go to the final four. There was also Lois Sheets, Laura Meyer, the McAdams sisters, Trish and Julie. The boys' squad was the most talented I believe in the history of the school. They were 10 players deep: Hoover, Redding and John McNeley at guards, Stevens, Ferry, Story, Meyer and Dave McNeley at forward and inside powers of Greg Ernsbarger and Tom Peelen at center -- an incredibly talented group.
The Pigs did amazing things to add to the atmosphere of the contests. They created signs that adorned the old gym. Ones I remember: in tribute to the high flying sophomore Doug Story: "We Got A Story That Never Ends" and Mendenhall's favorite, in tribute to the dunking back up center Tom Peelen, "Take Two Slams and Call Me In The Morning: Doc P"
The group entered the gym led by a "Hog Flag" carried by their King Pig, Mendenhall, who also wore a Hog Hat. They would circle the gym and gather under the basket to welcome the Crimson and Grey roundballers to the floor. Mendenhall and Cherry, along with others, led the group in cheers from the floor during time outs.
There were human pyramids at halftime. Members came to the floor to spell out encouraging cheers with their bodies, choreographed by the Pig founders. There were even tributes to the adults in the audience including Judge Jim Bickle. The chant went: "Bickle, Bickle he's our man. Let's give him a great big hand!!!"
The legend grew from there and achieved some fame throughout Southwest Missouri.
A sign in the Carl Junction gym was erected that read, "Carl Junction Welcomes The Brothers Pig," complete with a roped-off section of seating. According to Mendenhall, "Seven Pigs went to the Carthage vs Neosho basketball game to cheer on the Carthage Tigers. If Carthage were to beat Neosho, the Nevada Tigers would win the conference outright!
We asked (the gatekeeper) if we could bring our signs in and cheer Carthage on. The person taking money looked up and said, " you guys are the famous Brothers Pig ? Come on in and enjoy the game.....no charge! "
Mendenhall and David Cherry were later honored by the Nevada Lady Tigers at the season ending banquet, receiving an extended ovation from the players, coaches and parents attending.
The smell of popcorn, the sound of Jim Shannon's Tiger Pep Band and the echoes of pig cheers have faded away over the three decades.
The gym that ran north and south now runs east and west. The wooden signs that covered the old cinder block walls of the NHS Gym that depicted the members of the Old Big 13 Conference are gone -- a Mountaineer, a Houn' Dawg and several Tigers.
The famed Pig Pen has been replaced by a Tiger Cage. The Pigs are now in their 50s. Some are quite grey. Others have fattened and are ready for market. (It was a 178 pounds ago for me since I donned the colors of the brotherhood).
But the legend, and the appreciation of the Brothers Pig, live on in the minds and hearts of many a Tiger and Lady Tiger fan.
It was the Best of Times.
Kevin McKinley
NHS Class of 1982
NHS Athletic Director 1998-2013
Farmington, Ark.