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Dorothy Copus Brush The great egg mystery finally unravels All month colorful, plastic eggs have appeared
on bushes and trees in many yards. Each time I see decorated
hen's fruit at this season, a drawer in my memory file pops open. We were visiting our daughter and her serviceman
husband in 1973. He was stationed near Frankfurt, Germany. They
had found an apartment to rent above a family bakery in a small
village near the base. The men paired off, each holding a single
egg. They sat across from each other at a table and then they
started tapping the end of their egg against the opponent's egg.
As observers we could only guess at the rules of the game because
we could not speak German. When one egg cracked, the owner gave it to
the winner and the game continued with another contestant. There
was much hilarity and excitement as the game proceeded. Finally
the player with the most cracked eggs in his basket was declared
the winner, and there were cheers all around. All these years I have wondered about that
game, but I never found an explanation. I did see a town in Arkansas
listed in a travel magazine that held an annual egg tapping event,
but when I called the number given there was no answer. Then
in this month's Blue Ridge magazine I saw a headline,
"The Peters Hollow Egg Fight." I couldn't believe that an answer to the egg
contest was right here in Tennessee and practically in my back
yard. Peters Hollow and Rome Hollow are located about 10 miles
east of Elizabethton. This rivalry began 177 years ago when the
farmers of Rome Hollow challenged the farmers of Peters Hollow
as to whose hens laid the hardest eggs. Just as it was in Germany right after Easter
church services, the people gather in Peters Hollow for the fun.
But here they come by the hundreds to name the winner of the
year. In this Tennessee version the contestants sit in a circle
and tap the ends of the egg until one person is left with an
unbroken egg. The rules state contestants may enter up to
six dozen eggs, chicken eggs, that is. The whole affair is friendly
but serious. One of the Peters clan feeds his hens oyster shells
year round to produce stronger shells. Another of the Peters
family won the contest in 1970 by outlasting 300 other eggs.
A children's contest is held, too, so the tradition starts early. The tourism director of Carter County says
the crowds are so great it is hard to get near the festivities.
It has become an annual informal family reunion, and visitors
return from all around the country. Association is taking another look at its
warnings that no more than three or four eggs a week should be
eaten. That is good news for the people of Peters and Rome Hollow. |