www.roanoke.com

That's some pig!

He's terrific!

He's radiant!

Well, he's clean anyway. Those paint jobs certainly helped.

Around 4 a.m. this April 10, a group of Glenvar students, alums, and friends painted the concrete pig in front of Henry's Memphis BBQ on Main Street in Salem with a fresh coat of green and yellow paint. Little did restaurant owner Henry Caldwell or the vandals-by-night-with-permission know that they'd be starting what may become a big time tradition for the 24153 zip code.

"They had called and actually directly spoken to me and told me exactly when it was going to happen," Caldwell said. When the Salem Police Department arrived, they called to check in with the restauranteur.

A family in Caldwell's church, the McConnells, had suggested they'd have to paint his pig Glenvar green sometime, and he told them they could whenever they liked. At least this hog doesn't need Charlotte and her web, or the officers in blue, to save it!

"I think especially now, people need something to laugh at and grab ahold of," he said. "Right now with what's going on in the world, let's just have some fun. For teenagers, this is a pretty safe outlet for them to do something fun," Caldwell said. He himself has two daughters - one a student at Salem High School and the other at Faith Christian.

While the police showed up and actually called Caldwell the first time the pig morphed, he told them it was quite alright for folks to dress it up.

Then, at the beginning of May, the piggy changed its colors back to Spartan Maroon, with a pair of girls soccer cleats draped fashionably around its neck. And now, again, on May 19, the little swine seems to have had another change of heart - it loves Glenvar's baseball team now.

"A couple days before events we'll get what we call "pig-threat" calls," Caldwell said. "I think it's been great." He's eagerly anticipating (along with the other football fans in the greater Salem area) the start of football season and the pig paintings that might accompany it.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, he's even been told that some other folks will be headed to Salem this summer to add a fresh coat of power orange and a yellow 'T.'"

Even though his daughter is a Spartan, Glenvar's colors are a good compliment to his business's efforts to "go green." In his Salem and in his Brandon Avenue, Roanoke location, he's replaced 9-10 styrofoam customer containers with environmentally friendly options since last year.

His carry-out cups are made from corn and are compostable, the lids, straws, and napkins are made out of recycled materials, he's using hand-dryers in the restrooms, and the take-out containers are reusable dishwasher safe, and he's even added a little more wash work for his employees by using real cups, silverware, and sandwich baskets for dine-ins instead of making everything packaged to go.

"I think it was a combination of General Sales of Virginia and then just reading some of the restaurant publications that I get - just trying to get rid of as much styrofoam/polystyrene stuff that we use," Caldwell said. As a small operator, even though most of the products cost three times as much as styrofoam, he can make the change-over to "green" containers faster. And even though he has to absorb the extra cost, he says it's worth it.

In the meantime, the buzz is still on over what hue the swine may take next. Caldwell said that every day, folks are driving through the parking lot, taking pictures of the pig, and having their picture taken with the pig. A So Salem reporter even overheard a conversation in the coffeeshop between a Spartan fan and a Highlander where a little fun rivalry was going on.

One of the big talkers (both of which will remain anonymous) suggested their team would leave the other color on the butt-end of the piggy - because they're always behind. The other shot back with more playful "fightin' words," saying their team should just leave a snooty snout in the other's colors.

A t-shirt idea is also in the works, Caldwell said. They might get a picture of each time the pig's been painted in its own square, with a big "?" square at the bottom. Whether green, maroon, or orange, the piglet ought to make life in Salem a little more cheerful for years to come.