Who: Judy Crowder, 52, of Erlanger, whose home, brother-in-law, Bob Crowder says: “Has more pigs than any farm around here.”

Judy Crowder holds the pig her husband gave her, starting her collection (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        On display: Eight hundred and sixty oinker shaped items including: figurines, piggy banks, clocks, toilet paper holders, a toilet brush, cookie jars, cutting boards and stuffed toys. She also owns several pairs of pj's, slippers, boxer shorts and a robe with pig designs. There are also two pigs that oink when you open the front door and another that squeals when you open the refrigerator.

        “I ignore him,” Mrs. Crowder confesses.

        Where: Inside and outside the home she shares with her husband, Dennis and their cockatiel named Joey.

        Love token: Mrs. Crowder started collecting pigs in 1973. Her husband, who was serving in the United States Army Military Police Corps, was sent away to school in Alabama and brought her back a porcelain pig with a gold nose and the Military Police Corps symbol.

        “I just fell in love with that one,” she says. “After that, every time we would go somewhere I would say, "Oh, there's a pig!' ”

        Sty's the limit: Friends and family started giving them to her as gifts. When Mr. Crowder began driving a truck, she went on the road with him (for companionship and to help with paperwork) and was able to buy pigs from all the states except Alaska, Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington.

        “The ones I got at the truck stops are porcelain,” she explains. “They are like little round piggy banks that say, "I love Kentucky,' or "I love Ohio.' ”

        Breaker, breaker! In those days her CB handle was (surprise!) “Piglady3.”

        Even though the Crowders are no longer on the road, she keeps two pigs in her automobile. One is a bobblehead that sits on the dashboard and the other is a tiny “good luck pig” that she bought in Germany.

        Reap what you sow: The couple's six grandchildren are delighted with grandma's collection, especially the “Pig Garden"” that she built outside. It consists of 20 pig statues sitting on green indoor/outdoor carpeting surrounded by a white wooden fence.

        “It was fun to build,” she says. “Everybody just loves it. You wouldn't believe how many people just stop to look.”

        Though Mrs. Crowder loves pigs, she turned down her husband's offer to buy her a live, pot-bellied one. “When we lived in Vine Grove, Kentucky,” she recalls, “The lady down the street had one and treated it like a dog. It was a nice pig, but I don't want to live with a real one. I mean, a pig's a pig.”

        “And these only get dusty,” she chuckles.

        Share your prize possessions with Marsie Hall Newbold by mail: c/o The Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202, e-mail: marsolete@aol.com. Please include a daytime phone number.

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