VFW Hosts Labor Day Pig Roast

Mark Herbert had spent the better part of the last 12 hours cooking 300 pounds of hog meat.

There was little rest for him on this Labor Day.

"Yeah, we're laboring," he told someone who was watching over his shoulder Monday afternoon.

Hundreds of people gathered at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8681 in Spring Hill Monday for a pig roast - something it intends to host every year.

Commander Kenny Greenlee said it was the only big barbecue hosted by any of the region's VFW posts - from Brooksville to Clearwater. His goal is to become more active in the community and host more events for the public.

"We're consistently going to have stuff going on here, that's for sure," Greenlee said.

Herbert, who manages Circle H Meat Masters out of Brooksville, had a line of people waiting as he cut the large slabs of meat into smaller slices. Eventually, the platters were moved indoors where longer lines of plate-wielding people waited for their chance to sink their teeth into the smoked pork.

Pig roasts were not uncommon at the VFW building in past years, but interest among members began to tail off, said Senior Vice Commander Bob Corthell.

He puffed on a cigarette and looked around at the crowd, which kept getting larger by the hour.

"We're trying to boost things up a little," he said. "We want to make the community more aware of what VFW is all about."

Organizers advertised in the local newspapers and printed hundreds of flyers, which were passed around at local restaurants and churches.

Guy Mish and Rachel Parrish learned about the pig roast after Mish was handed a flyer at a local Cuban restaurant.

They both like barbecues and decided that was how they wanted to spend their Labor Day.

"It seemed like a good idea to me," Mish said.

There were a variety of games outside for children, along with raccoons from the local wildlife rehabilitation center and a classic car show.

The VFW, which is located at 18940 Drayton Street near County Line Road, also hosts steak dinners, spaghetti dinners, karaoke night and Bingo every week, Corthell said.

The proceeds from Monday's pig roast went toward the post's newly formed color guard.