Hampton Falls Town Clerk Holly Knowles swears in former N.H. Gov. John Sununu and his wife, Nancy, as 2007 town hog reeves. The Sununus recently moved to Hampton Falls.
From governor to hog reeve
By Susan Morse
Posted Mar 25, 2007 at 6:30 AM
HAMPTON FALLS ? Governor. Chief of staff to the president of the United States. Hog reeve.
Former Gov. John Sununu and his wife, Nancy, fell victim to a Yankee welcome last month when Hampton Falls bestowed the newcomers the honorary title of hog reeve and keepers of the pound.
Hampton Falls Town Clerk Holly Knowles swore in the Sununus during the town?s deliberative session. The couple were given the sheriff?s badge of hog reeve, along with the responsibility of rounding up any loose pigs in town.
The post dates back to the 1700s, according to Town Administrator Eric Small. Town officials usually choose an unsuspecting newcomer each year for the honorary title.
?Somebody had warned us,? Sununu said. ?We had some friends who had come to town earlier.?
Sununu?s son, U.S. Sen. John Sununu of Waterville Valley, later called his father to tell him there were some hogs in the street and he?d better get to work.
The Sununus moved from Salem to Hampton Falls in December to be closer to their children and eight grandchildren.
?We lived in Salem for over 30 years,? he said. ?A number of kids have moved to the Seacoast, three of them are in Newfields. We wanted to be a little closer to the grandchildren. We thought it was time to build a new house.?
Sununu has stayed out of national politics, but has taken part in the local variety, he said.
?We went to the deliberative session of Town Meeting, chatted about a couple of items, and voted in the elections,? he said.
He doesn?t worry that New Hampshire?s position in the first-in-the-nation primary is threatened, as state law will move the state?s date earlier than any other.
?New Hampshire has a very nice law that allows the secretary of state to do the right thing,? Sununu said. ?Bill Gardner is the best secretary of state in America.?
Sununu, who was governor of New Hampshire in the 1980s and chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, has returned to his former engineering consulting job, JHS Associates.
Among his goals, he said, are ?just trying to age gracefully. The senator takes care of it now. I can sit back and watch.?
As to receiving the title of hog reeve, ?It?s one of the great honors. We got a badge and everything. If you need any hogs rounded up, call me.?
If the Sununus need instruction on the job, they can refer to the minutes of the March 1803 Hampton Falls Town Meeting. Voters that year decided, ?Hogs may go in the highways without yoaking if they are well ringed.?
gare facing a tough battle in his campaign to unseat incumbent john sununu, y'all
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