Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Eastwood graduate Linda Ladd has been making a name for herself over the past 11 years at the Ottawa County Fair’s hog calling competition.
“I enjoy doing it, but I never thought it would go this far,” Ladd said. “It's kind of fun.”
On July 15, Ladd won her ninth contest at the county fair since her first competition in 2015. She did not participate in 2020 because of Covid, and she has lost just one time in her 10 years of competing.
This year, the victory featured some added fun as Ladd knocked off former American Idol star, Crystal Bowersox, for the crown.
Bowersox was trying to keep a low profile, but Ladd said she was very friendly to speak with.
“I didn't know it was her until they said her name, and my mouth dropped,” she said. “I went up to her and said, ‘Oh my God, I didn't recognize you.’ And she goes, ‘Well, that's kind of the point.’ She just wanted to be able to walk around the fairground and be able to do her own thing. She was very friendly, very sweet.”
Bowersox even joked with Ladd.
“She came up to me and said, ‘You must be a seasoned hog caller.’ I said, well, kind of,” Ladd said.
In the lone year Ladd didn’t win – she said she couldn’t recall which year – it was 100 degrees at the fairground and the lady who defeated her came out wearing a pig costume.
“It was a big one,” Ladd said. “A wintry type. I don’t know how she stood in that thing. It was furry looking and everything else. I thought, ‘Oh my God, there's no way I would do that.’ It had a very big head on there and everything. I thought, no way, it’s too hot for that.”
Ladd developed her skill as a child when she would make animal noises with her cousin, Janet Eaken.
“We had fun with it,” she said.
Years later, Ladd watched the competition at the Ottawa County Fair, and her husband eventually encouraged her to compete.
“I started out with just doing the call itself,” she said. “I haven’t changed it up anymore because I like what I'm doing right now, and it's kind of cute. I've had that for a couple years. I might add a line to it or something. Otherwise, I don't stray too much from it because it's like a play on words.”
Ladd’s most memorable competition was her first one.
“I got up there and was just looking, and I (didn’t know what to do),” she said. “Maybe it was stage fright. I'm looking at all the people, and I'm holding that microphone and I'm going, what am I doing up here? Why am I up here anyways?”
Ladd, who now resides in Woodville Township, said she plans on continuing to compete in the event.
“I look forward to it every year,” she said. “I have a good time doing it, and I like to make people laugh. It’s different, and I always would tease the girls. I go, ‘Haha, I got the hardware.’ But it's not all about that. It's just fun, you know. I just enjoy doing it, and I like to make people laugh. That's what I think it's all about.”
