Unearthing the Fun in Sopchoppy, Florida
- Apryl Thomas
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
"When I was a little girl in the 1960s, my father took my two brothers and me out into the flatwoods to grunt for worms," comments Mary Katherine Westmark with the Wakulla County (Fla.) Tourism Development Council
"He used a wooden stob and an ax blade for scraping, and we would run around with Folgers coffee cans, trying to see who could pick up the most worms.
We always had fun on those outings. We would then take our bamboo poles and go fishing in local ponds and lakes."
If you did a double-take at the phrase "grunt for worms" and had to go back to ensure you read that correctly, you probably aren't alone.
However, in Sopchoppy, about 45 minutes southwest of Tallahassee, it's celebrated with the annual Sopchoppy Worm Gruntin' Festival (held on the second Saturday in April, which happens to be April 12 this year) and is still in practice. Westmark points to residents Gary and Audrey Revell as the most well-known "professional" worm grunters in Sopchoppy and have made a living off the practice. One of their sons, Snap Revell, also grunts worms on the side.
"The Revell family has been the face of worm grunting at the annual Sopchoppy Worm Grunting Festival since its origination in 2002, conducting demonstrations and explaining the history and art to festival goers."
The Revells were the recipient of Florida's Folk Heritage Award in 2010, presented to them by Governor Charlie Crist at the state Capitol.
What is Worm Grunting
Worm gruntin' (or for those who are refined, grunting) is a(n) technique or art of getting earthworms to come out of the ground using a wooden stob, stake, and a flat, file-shaped piece of iron called a "rooping iron." (Westmark says the stob is typically made of persimmon, black wood, or cherry wood in the Sopchoppy area.)
The grunter drives the wooden stob into the ground and then scrapes the rooping iron back and forth across the top of the stob, creating a "grunting" noise that causes the stob to vibrate, which in turn sends vibrations into the surrounding ground. The earthworms, thinking the vibrations are caused by predators, namely moles, flee to the surface to escape being a meal. The grunter collects the worms from the ground and sells them directly to fishermen and several local stores for fishing bait.
The flatwoods and the swamps of the Apalachicola National Forest make it one of the best places to grunt for worms because the soil is the right consistency for housing worms.
Even though gruntin' had been practiced for decades, Westmark says it was still relatively unknown until Charles Kuralt of the CBS show "On the Road with Charles Kuralt" made a stop in Sopchoppy to do a piece on the topic. While the story attracted new people to try gruntin', which increased competition in the area, it also became regulated by the government, requiring participants to be permitted.
"People in the industry said that one story drastically changed things in the Sopchoppy area."
Then, in 2009, Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" came to Sopchoppy to do a worm gruntin' feature, bringing even more attention to the tradition.
About the Festival
In 2002, a group of local citizens formed "Sopchoppy Preservation and
Improvement Association" (SPIA) to preserve the tradition of worm grunting and to promote the heritage of Sopchoppy. The group began hosting an annual festival, the Sopchoppy Worm Gruntin' Festival, to celebrate and bring awareness to the practice.
The small event that focused on local heritage grew from year to year into what has become one of the largest festivals in Wakulla County and the surrounding area.
In 2023, SPIA turned over the festival's hosting to the newly formed group Discover Sopchoppy, a not-for-profit organization that promotes and supports the city of Sopchoppy. Discover Sopchoppy has hosted the festival for the past 3 years.
The festival is held at Depot Park, in the heart of downtown, with events beginning early at 7 a.m. - the 1.4-mile Wiggle Worm Fun Run, then continues throughout the day, with the worm grunting demonstration by members of the Revell family, a worm gruntin' competition for kids 12 and under, all day live music, arts and crafts vendors, food trucks, beer tent and more.
The event culminates with the Worm Grunter's Ball at 7 p.m., held at the Civic Brewing Company, the local brewery.
Wait - a Worm Gruntin' Competition
According to Westmark, the worm gruntin' contest is open to kids 12 and under, but parents can assist in getting them started.
A "worm field," seeded with worms a few months before the festival, is located next to the historic Sopchoppy train depot, and a demonstration is held first so the kids can see how gruntin' is done.
Each contestant receives a wooden stob, a "rooping iron," and a small plastic cup to try gruntin' in the field.
The person with the highest weight in worms is declared the winner.
"There is an art to it, but beginners are able to conjure up worms each year at the contest."
Sopchoppy the Other 364 Days
Westmark compares Sopchoppy to the fictional town of Mayberry.
"It is full of heritage, from the turn of the century buildings that still dot the downtown to the historic Sopchoppy train depot that still stands and is now a museum celebrating the town and its history."
There are local businesses to check out, two parks (Depot Park and Myron B. Hodge City Park) to enjoy and the Wakulla Community Theater, which has been putting on plays and musicals since 1991.
The town also boasts the Sopchoppy River, which winds throughout parts of the downtown itself.
While the meaning of the word "Sopchoppy" has been debated throughout the years, it is believed to be of Native American origin, meaning either "dark water river" or "long and twisted river." The river is a tributary of the Ochlockonee River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico and is an excellent spot for kayaking, canoeing and boating.
Don't forget about the Ochlockonee Bay Bike Trail that starts at Mashes Sands in Ochlockonee Bay and terminates at the entrance of the town of Sopchoppy.