Tony Peacock has something new to holler about. Peacock, who lives just outside of Carrboro in Chatham County, placed third in the 40th annual National Hollerin’ Contest in Spivey’s Corner this past Saturday.
Although the bronze is impressive, it is not the best finish for Peacock, who was the national champion in 1999 and again in 2006. And while it may seem like a slightly odd hobby, Peacock notes that hollerin’ has an important place in the history of rural North Carolina.
“It may be one of the weirdest contests, but it’s also the most misunderstood,†Peacock said. “Part of its origin was to preserve hollers that farmers used to communicate with one another, like greetings or distress calls.â€
At the contest, hollers typically fall into one of four categories: distress hollers, which were used to warn nearby farmers of danger and ask for assistance; functional hollers for calling in livestock; communicative hollers for just saying hey to a neighbor; and pleasure hollers, which are just for the fun of it.
“There’s no practical reason for it now other than wanting to learn some neat sounds,†Peacock said.