Norm, background information must be told about
his original owner Robert ( Bob ) Peterson. Bob
was born and spent about half his childhood in
Syracuse, N.Y. Then his family moved to the
Wallingford, Connecticut area, which was more
suburban, but still a long way from " down on the
farm ". He played sports like all other red blooded
American boys even to the level of 2 times all-state
hockey goalie, but he always had a love for animals
that was prevalent. His mother Isabel said Bob
always maintained as many animals as zoning
would allow ( or more ) and sometimes much to the
chagrin of his family. As an adult he developed a
passion for high class purebred dairy cattle mainly
with the Holstein breed but also with Brown Swiss.
Peterson liked to show his cattle and he owned
several prolific winners over the years. Bob became
a Connecticut state policeman in his early 20's, and
from reliable sources, a darn good one. By his late
30's he acquired health disorders with his heart
and was forced into early retirement from the force.
He headed west and found a quaint little farm with
about 45 acres, a 40 cow barn, a 2 story house,
and a smaller auxiliary barn . Of course this was the
farm in Hubbardsville, N.Y that he bought and
where he raised Big Norm. Peterson thought he
must be in heaven. He had always been a farmer at
heart and now he could live his dream. Bob
populated the small farm with cattle, dogs, cats ,
chickens, turkeys and pigs. The pigs he raised for
freezer pork and he supplied many local pig roasts
as well. He lost his big red Duroc breeding boar
and that's when Bob came into possession of Norm.
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were like family. He loved to own bragging rights
when his cattle won at local or state shows, which
was often. So when Big Norm gained notoriety, Bob
reveled in the celebrity that Norm brought. Even so
it was hard for Peterson and his friends to believe
the public interest in Norm. After the AP put the
article nation wide people were coming from all
over to see the huge pig. He was on T-V, and from
several sources, the internet. People from all walks
of life thought Norm was just great and were
fascinated by this big fat lovable beast. Bob
wondered at first if he had a worlds record, but that
was held by a Poland China pig from the 1950's at
over 2500 lbs. But after all the all the publicity,
nobody said they had one bigger. Probably Norm
was indeed, currently, the world's largest pig. Bob's
friends began to encourage him to capitalize on
Norms popularity and take him on tour to fairs as a
side show. His friend Kerry Dart spoke the loudest
of these suggestions and they talked of being
partners in the venture. But that was all cut short
by the untimely death of Peterson at age 47.
Initially, securing Norm's well being was a priority.
Good friends and neighbors rallied to the cause to
care for Norm and the other animals. First and
foremost Bob's commitment to let Norm live a full
natural life had to be honored. Next providing a
way to allow the general public to enjoy Norm was
also crucially important. Dart was dedicated to
each of these factors and so Bob's family turned
over the charge of Norm to him. There was
concern about companionship for Norm so all the
other pigs were sent to the auction except for a
potbellied pig to remain as a companion for Norm.
The potbellied pig was initially named "Stupid"
because of his apparent mental deficiencies. But
this has since been altered to " Stu Pig " for a
better sound. Norm and Stu were left in Bob's barn
until Dart gets a barn ready at his place about 4
miles away. The website is started, Norm's going to
the New York State Fair and hopefully the Big E.
Big Norm t-shirts are ready and hats and wall
posters will be soon. So that's where we're at and
we'll keep everybody updated as things happen.
