For nearly 25 years, Johnson County has kicked off the holiday season with thousands of pounds of roasted pork.
They gather at tables eating sandwiches, green beans, rolls, ice cream and keg root beer. And while stuffing themselves, they also help fill the coffers of local charities helping to feed the hungry.
What started as a relatively small lunch raising a few thousand dollars to one of Johnson County’s most well-attended holiday traditions. The Jim Rhoades Memorial Hog Roast will bring thousands of people together for a feast from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Malone’s Catering of Greenwood donates the pork and sides; Indian Creek FFA gives ice cream; Monarch Beverages and Petro’s Culligan takes care of water; and Monarch Beverages provides drinks, including kegged root beer.
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There is no set cost for the meal. Rather, organizers ask people to give what they can to the cause. Some people give a couple dollars, while others have donated as much as $1,000, Auld said.
More than 1,000 people attend the hog roast annually, and last year, organizers raised more than $37,000.
That money was split between food deliveries for families in need through the Good Cheer Fund, and to support the Interchurch Food Pantry, which distributes food and household supplies to county residents.
"It’s a great way to kick off Christmas. It’s a lot of fun, and really brings the community together," said John Auld, Rotary Club member and organizer of the event.
Auld has been involved with the hog roast for the past 23 years, when Rhoades founded it. He saw firsthand how Rhoades organized everything, essentially putting the entire event on himself and spending weeks ahead of time getting all the details just right.
"It was all Jim. He came to friends and Rotary, and asked if we’d help out," Auld said.
A former county commissioner and member of the Franklin Rotary Club, Rhoades was a well-known character in the community, Auld said. Rhoades hosted the hog roast in the parking lot of his business, Rhoades True Value Hardware in Franklin. Eventually, a heated tent was erected outside his hardware store on Jefferson Street to give people a place to sit.
To support the dinner, Rhoades would canvas the community asking for in-kind donations. Farmers would donate hogs or chickens. Vendors would provide massive grills. Dozens of other businesses would provide drinks or sides or other supplies.
"He would get people to donate soup. He’d get people to donate coffee. People would just bring stuff," Auld said. "The last few days at Rhoades, it was a huge event."
Preparations took nearly two full days, between preparing the meat to cooking it to setting up all of the tables. Rhoades would cook as many as 12 hogs and hundreds of chickens for the crowd, often manning the grills himself.
Auld and other volunteers would come by the day before to help with the food. They cut up the donated pigs themselves, preparing them and throwing them on the grill to cook overnight.
One year, someone donated dozens of chickens to be roasted. One of Rhoades’ vendors offered to provide a massive rotisserie grill to cook chickens.
"We had so many chickens, by the end, we had way more food than we could serve up," Auld said. "So then we’d take that leftover food, clean them, debone them and donate them to a homeless shelter or something."
Rhoades was involved in the hog roast until his death in 2005, at which point the Franklin Rotary Club decided to carry it on. That was the first year Auld stepped in to help run the event.
Since that time, the event has grown immensely. The first year Rhoades held it, the hog roast raised $3,500.
Now, getting more than $30,000 is expected. That fundraising prowess would not be possible without Steve and Dan Malone, owners of Malone Catering, who provide the food for free.
"We couldn’t do it without them. There’s no way," Auld said. "They deserve all of the credit."
For Auld, this is his final year organizing the event for the Rotary Club. He has been training someone new to take over next year, fellow Rotary member Eric Leugers.
The hope is to keep it going as long as they can, Auld said.
"We’re pretty proud of it as an organization," he said.
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What: Jim Rhoades Memorial Hog Roast, hosted by the Franklin Rotary Club
When: 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Scott Hall at the Johnson County fairgrounds
Cost: The lunch is free, but donations are requested.
Why: Proceeds benefit the Johnson County Good Cheer Fund and Interchurch Food Pantry
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