Hesters Petunia was bred in Indiana by Annette Hesters. Her sire was Hale Mork, listed in the AGHA as Hesters Mork. Mork was bred by Dan and Shirley Hale in Plainwell, Michigan in 1993. Her dam was Hesters Polly, the offspring of Hale Mork and Watkins Ginger. This makes her linebred on the Hale genetics. She has the shaggy ears of some older lines and the large udders of some Sumrall hogs. My Sumrall MS Swanee Rose had those udders. Hesters Carlos, a half sibling of Petunia via Mork also had those udders. Hesters Petunia was traded to Arie McFarlen of Maveric Heritage Ranch in 2005. Arie then sold her to the Tulsa Zoo.
Photo of Hesters Petunia provided by Pat Murphy of the Tulsa Zoo with permission to use for educational purposes. She is linebred with Hale lineage, having Hesters (Hale) Mork as both a sire and a grandsire. She also has Virgina lines that could be from J. Frank Baylis. This hog’s DNA was never compared to Baylis Samson because Arie appears to have delivered her from Hesters to the Zoo and did not make her part of the Maveric herd. This is likely because she retained Petunia’s full sibling, Hesters Carlos. The full udders on this sow are a variation of udder types in this breed. The Hesters Petunia line is important to save because it is directly from Hale and Watkins stock. If any hogs from her lineage are available through the Tulsa Zoo, this would add to the national herd’s diversity.