This month, Love of Learning hit the road to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see if we could investigate the tradition of Groundhog Day.
Punxsutawney is a small town in western Pennsylvania approximately 90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The population there is very similar to Philomath. Punxsutawney claims 5,642 residents while Philomath recently updated their headcount to 5,801. They are practically the same size.
Punxsutawney is known as the weather capital of the world considering its most famous meteorologist known as Punxsutawney Phil. Most times of the year, Phil hangs out in his burrow located in the local library that is part of the downtown city center. There are windows on the outside of his burrow as well as an inside view from the children’s section of the library to peek in and catch a glimpse of him.
Most days, Phil snuggles in a nest of straw with a plentiful number of carrots, radishes and other vegetables for him to snack on. Phil is not alone in the burrow. He has a female companion named “Phyllis,” who also habitats there.
This made me think of Oregon State’s Benny and Bernice that brings smiles and excitement to children at various Oregon State athletic events.
In Oregon, we hold our beaver in high esteem across the Beaver State. In fact, Oregon is the only state flag that has a Beaver silhouette on it. Oregon also celebrates a big day in the same month on Feb. 14. Not only is that day Valentine’s Day but also Oregon’s birthday. Oregon will turn 165 years old in a couple weeks.
Punxsy Phil’s big day of course is Feb. 2. Early Friday morning, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club all gather at Gobbler’s Knob, which sits about a mile outside the downtown area.
Early in the morning the groundhog keeper coaxes Phil out of his burrow in the stump there. The club calls Phil the “Seer of Seer, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather-Prophet Extraordinary.”
As the legend goes, if Phil sees his shadow, he gets scared and retreats to his burrow for six more weeks of winter. If Phil emerges and doesn’t see his shadow, it is a sign of an early spring.
The Groundhog Club has been hosting this same event since 1887. Its origins are traced back to German immigrants who celebrated Candlemas where clergy would bless candles to last the long winter.
It is interesting that Philomath was incorporated in 1882, just five years before Punxsutawney began celebrating Groundhog Day.
Over the 137-year history, Phil has seen his shadow 107 times — meaning 78% of the time it means six more weeks of winter. Those odds are worse than a coin flip. Nevertheless, the tradition continues.
Groundhog Day is the most popular event that comes to this small town. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Day festival has grown into a three-day event the first week of February. This is similar in length to the annual Philomath Frolic and Rodeo that happens the second week in July.
All over Punxsutawney, it is fun to drive around town to see the variety of “Phantastic Phils” that decorate local streets. They are painted groundhog sculptures that are adopted by local businesses, government agencies and local families in the area to keep the spirit of Groundhog Day alive.
Thousands of people from all over the globe will journey to Gobbler’s Knob on Friday morning to witness this age-old meteorological spectacle. I noticed a pin map at the chamber of commerce that shows the locations where various people have traveled. Based on what I saw, there were several people from the Willamette Valley who had made the pilgrimage. There were also pins placed by visitors from faraway places like Alaska, New Zealand and even Madagascar in Africa.
One of the interesting things I noticed was people wearing a Philomath “P” on the streets of Punxsutawney. Given that the city is located just 90 miles from Pittsburgh, there is a large following of Pittsburgh Pirates fans in the area who wear a similar “P” on ballcaps and sweatshirts everywhere.
The Pirates have won five World Series since the franchise was founded. The last one was back in 1979 when Willie Stargell led the Bucs, as they are called by locals, to a win over the Baltimore Orioles. This was back in the day when the Bucs adopted the song “We Are Family” sung by Sister Sledge.
Punxsutawney is a close-knit community where people feel like family. Philomath is much the same.
Baseball fans in Pittsburgh, Punxsutawney, and Philomath all look forward to spring when Opening Day finally arrives. I noticed Pittsburgh just happens to open up at home against the Orioles on April 5 and the Philomath Warriors host Madras White Buffaloes at Stephenson Field the same day. Play ball! Can’t wait!
Some days the long days of winter seem to repeat themselves over and over. This was depicted in the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” where Phil Conners, a weatherman from Pittsburgh played by Bill Murray, gets caught in an endless loop of living the same day repeatedly. It is a hilarious comedy with Punxsutawney’s famous event as the backdrop. You should watch it this week with your family if you can.
Given the ice, the snow and the rain felt in both Philomath and Punxsutawney this winter, thousands await what Phil’s prediction will be? Will he see his shadow? Will we have an early spring? All eyes will turn to a place called Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Happy Groundhog Day!
(Eric Niemann is a former mayor and city councilor in Philomath. He can be reached at Lifeinphilomath@gmail.com).