Here in Ohio, down in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area in Peninsula, we have a covered bridge. In order to preserve it , it has become a tourist attraction. It has a parking lot and picnic area.

As a child we drove across the bridge many times on the way to my Aunt Lois's house in Richfield, but we are not allowed to drive across it anymore. My father would take my family to the bridge to swim, skip rocks and catch crawfish. Now I take my children and Hardy.

Hardy love to root around the picnic area where there is a board to read about the history of the bridge and a picnic table. For some reason Hardy is afraid to cross the bridge, but if you cross the bridge, it is easier to get to the river. So when I feel it would be nice for him to cool off in the water, I park on the other side of the bridge and all he does is walk a path to the river. There he rolls in the mud and clay and blows bubbles in the water while he digs for something.

Now, I usually take Hardy and the kids to the bridge in the afternoon and return home in time to cook dinner. But last night was different. We decided to go after dinner.

When we got there a Park Ranger was parking people and the bridge was crowded. I asked the Ranger what was going on and he said it was called "Clogging on the Bridge". There was to be music and dancing and it was open to the public. We went on up to the bridge.

I felt bad because people were supposed to watch the dancing, but they didn't. They all crowded around Hardy. I had questions coming at me from all directions. Can I pet your pig? What's its name? It is a boy or girl? Where does he sleep? What does he eat? Is he house broken? Do you recommend pigs as a pet?

Hardy started getting a little nervous with all the hands coming at him, so I took control of the situation and asked everyone to sit in a circle around him. I told them Hardy could do tricks and asked if they would like to see. Even the Park Range came to watch. Everybody cheered as Hardy sat, shook hands, did a circle and did the figure eight. They loved it! One little girls said,"He can do tricks and I can't even train my dog." Everyone laughed.

I was so proud of Hardy he was so good. He was the Star of the Everett Road Covered Bridge.

About the Author:
Jeanne Savage is a NAPPA member and lives with her husband, her eight year old daughter Renee, and her 9 month old potbellied pig Hardy in Akron, Ohio.