Ground Hog's Day ...

Ground Hog's Day is definitely something that's right with the world. Not the movie by that name (although it is a classic), but the actual event held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. I had always wanted to go to Punxsutawney (derived from Indian word for "town of the sand flies") on that day ... and several years ago the day fell on a Saturday, so Barb and I went off to check it out. Every hotel in the area was booked, so we had to stay at a rest stop motel along Route 80 outside of DuBois. We arrived there late Friday, and went right to bed, because we had read that you need to get to Punxsutawney quite early to get tickets to ride one of the buses that takes you out to Gobbler's Knob, where the festivities are held.

We were up at 3:00 a.m. and on the road shortly afterwards, and picked up company along the way. We arrived in the town in the dark, and had to search for parking. Got our bearings ... found the place selling the bus tickets ... they also stamp you with a groundhog paw stamp. Then off to the lines of school buses - must be every bus in Jefferson County called in for service. The ride to the Knob is not that long - it's a park on a hillside about a mile outside of the town. We arrived at about 4:15 a.m. And were not the first ones there. There were already thousands of people present, bonfires burning, porta potties set up, a snack bar doing a brisk business, and music blaring from a lighted stage at the bottom of a natural amphitheater. Women in colored t-shirts were dancing on the stage - the Groundhog Dancers - they were in motion up until the climax of the morning - the ceremony with Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary. That's his full name. I imagine his friends just call him Phil.

The buses continued to arrive and depart for the next several hours, bringing thousands more to the Knob. On the stage, there was as variety of entertainment - game shows with audience participation, rock anthems and dancing, shooting of t shirts high up into the air to land in the crowd, several wedding proposals (both accepted), the introduction of dignitaries and guests, and fireworks simulcast to music. People were roaming around dressed up in a variety of costumes and headgear that reflect their take on what the well dressed groundhog fan should wear on this occasion. Lots of weird fur and funny hats. Mirth was in the air. The snack bar was serving hot dogs, coffee, hot chocolate. Somewhat bizarre to be standing on a hillside in the middle of Pennsylvania in 29 degrees at 6:00 a.m. in February, eating hot dogs with sauerkraut and watching fireworks (bursting above the clouds - and so more of a colorful glow than the summer version), while listening to Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. And that's the charm of the whole event.

At about 7:00 a.m., the Inner Circle arrives - about twenty men in top hats and black suits. They are the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog's Club, the group that takes care of and nurtures both Phil and the annual event. They go through a lot of hocus pocus and finally at 7:25 a.m., they pull Phil out of a tree stump on stage, talk to him in Groundhogese, listen to what he says, and then announce whether he has seen his shadow or not. If there is no shadow, then spring is near. If he sees his shadow, then it is 6 more weeks of winter. Then they broadcast Bill Murray's heartwarming speech from the end of the movie, and then everyone goes in peace.

The buses are still running - but you are in a crowd of 35,000 people - and so most of us simply walked back into town. It's about a mile, down hill, and it gets your feet moving, and by the time you get to town, you can feel your toes again. The town is quintessential Pennsylvania small town, but with a local twist. There are statues of groundhogs everywhere, that theme is everywhere. There is a large central square, and they have ice carvings, wood carvings, benches - and of course what are they carving? Groundhogs. There is a gift shop that sells the largest variety of groundhog themed chotchka in the world. But we found that most of the energy of the day was left up on the Knob. We thought the town might fill up with events and such, but it was pretty quiet. We went back to our motel and took a nap.

We returned to Punx for the night's activities - but there weren't any to speak of. I think the action was the night before. There were some rowdy drunks in the bar of the local hotel, but we walked the streets for a few hours and did not see too many other people in our travels. We did see Phil's home - he has a place built for him in the town library, and a window allows him to see out to the town square, and also allows visitors to see him. He wasn't there when we were - he had done his duty for the day and so perhaps they gave him the rest of the day off. We went back up to the Knob, by car this time, and it was hard to believe that this township park was the scene of all of that madness just hours before. The stage was still there, with the artificial tree stump where Phil was displayed. And you could see the small "waiting room" below it where they kept Phil until it was time for his prediction. And I thought "what must Phil have been thinking, hearing all of that noise outside, four hours of rock anthems, and then being pulled out into the cold, and held up in the air before thousands of screaming humans?" I imagine it was "This ain't gonna end well".

They rolled up the sidewalk at about 6:00 p.m. and we took that as our cue to leave. Had dinner at a diner in DuBois. The next day, we took the long way home, via Indiana, Pennsylvania, and visited the Jimmy Stewart Museum. It was actually enjoyable - he had quite an interesting life, and his home town remembers him lovingly in this museum. Then the long ride home. We filmed a lot of our trip - and now, three years later, I finally strung it all together and hope to get it posted up to YouTube. If you like sitting through someone else's home movies (and who doesn't?) then you will love this version. But actually, it gives a nice tour of the events of that day. I'll post a link when I overcome the last of my tech obstacles and get it posted.

But back to Punxsutawney for a moment, to close with the speech that Bill Murray gave at the end of the movie Groundhog Day:

“When Chekhov saw the long winter ... he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope.

Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life.

But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney...

and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts...

I couldn't imagine a better fate ... than a long and lustrous winter.”

From Punxsutawney,
it's Doug Humes.