Easter egg fight Tennessee town's tradition
Posted: April 5, 2015 - 4:00am
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) -- Some Carter County residents have an unusual way of spending Easter Sunday.
The Johnson City Press reports (http://bit.ly/1Iyq1ea) the Peters Hollow Egg Fight has been going on since 1823, when it began as a way to settle an argument between the farmers of Rome Hollow and Peters Hollow over whose hens laid the hardest eggs.
As it exists today, participants in the adult division may bring six dozen hard-boiled chicken eggs to the fight. The object is to crack the shell of an opponent's egg. Once the top and bottom of an egg have been cracked, that egg is discarded. The battle continues until one of the competitors has no eggs left and must withdraw.
This year's competition comes with a twist. Hannah Colbaugh is hoping to be the first person in memory to win three years in a row.
The 24-year-old has been participating since she was a child. She first won the adult division in 2006. She won again in 2011. She then won two in a row in 2013 and 2014.
In preparation for today's fight, Colbaugh told the paper she and her mother boiled and dyed 30 dozen eggs Friday night. She bought eggs from several different sources hoping to find the perfect fighting eggs.
"I look for smaller eggs with a more pointed end, rather than larger and rounder eggs," Colbaugh said.
She also has a tip for holding the eggs during the fight.
"You have to leave enough room so they can tap your egg, but you only want them to hit the end," Colbaugh said. "If they hit the egg on the side, it will crack."
Colbaugh said she has some other secrets as well, including secret ingredients that go into the boiling water, but those she would not divulge.