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Groundhog Day 2008
Punxsutawney, PA
2/2/08
Happy Groundhog Day! More specifically Happy Groundhog Day from the birthplace and home of the world's foremost weather forecasting rodent, “seer of seers, prognosticator of prognosticators”, THE most famous groundhog in the world, Punxsutawney Phil!
I’m not sure when I first had the idea, or desire, to come here for this unique festival but it’s been several years. I can remember checking the calendar a few times in the past to see what day of the week February 2nd would fall that year. It never seemed to be on a weekend and though that usually doesn’t stop me it always seemed to push the idea back just far enough for another idea to take center stage.
Back in November 2007 though the idea once again popped in my head and as soon as I saw that February 2, 2008 was a Saturday I started smiling. This was going to be the year!
I sent a note out to a select group of friends that I thought might also be interested in attending the Groundhog festivities in Punxsutawney but was surprised when nobody jumped at it. The people I talked to about it in person just laughed. I got responses like, “Why?” or “That sounds fun to you?!” Even the rare people that agreed with me were non-committal on actually going.
I guess that’s how life is for many people. Things are quickly put into the “one day, maybe” file instead of the “Yes! Let’s plan it out right now!” file. I’m not sure if I used to be this way but I know I’m definitely not like that now. I feel a real sense of urgency, desire, and passion to find new experiences every moment of every day.
In the end Jillian just laughed at me and said, “If you want to do it…lets do it.” So I booked the flights, rental car, fought for a hotel room in Punxsutawney, and packed lots of warm clothes.
My new job is somewhat flexible but I don’t want to start asking for vacation days. I’ve only been working there for less than 5 months. So we took a late flight out of West Palm on Friday and landed in Pittsburgh just before 9 p.m. After that it was a quick 2 hour drive on the small highways of Pennsylvania to the town of Punxsutawney.
Punxsutawney has a population of just over 6,000 but on Groundhog Day, or Groundhog Weekend as this year is, the number of people in town probably doubles at least. Obviously there aren’t enough hotel beds in town to accommodate everyone but through some persistent phone calls, e-mails, and then some lucky cancellations I was able to get us a room right in Downtown Punxsutawney.
We rolled into town last night around 11:30 pm, easily found our hotel, The Pantall Hotel, on the main street, and luckily got the last spot open in the icy parking lot. As soon as we got out of the car you could feel the energy in the air. Jillian and I were both excited but my condition easily reached to another level, probably best described as giddy.
We checked in, threw our stuff in the room and went directly to the busy hotel bar. Jillian and I got a couple Red Bull & vodkas to start the night but truthfully I probably didn’t need the Red Bull. My giddiness would have kept me awake for hours.
Jillian and I sipped our drinks and soaked up the atmosphere. It was a small bar that I would describe as “towny” but unless you are from the small town Midwest you may not understand that description. It was crowded, smoky, hot, humid…and fun! There was a two man band playing against the wall and the guitarist would move out of your way to let you pass right in the middle of whatever classic rock riff he was duplicating. The bar was a mix of college students and middle aged locals with some from both groups sporting homemade groundhog hats and costumes.
Soon after we got our first drinks a guy in a tuxedo and top hat, a Groundhog Inner Circle member, came through the bar with some friends. Everyone started cheering as he passed and a woman with him gave Jillian and me some beads with Phil’s little groundhog face smiling at the bottom. It was a simple trinket but I instantly felt like I now belonged. We were now officially part of the Groundhog festivities in Punxsutawney!
They were great “kids” and of course I could see a lot of similarities to my gang. It easily could have been us in the mid '90’s on one of our classic road trips. Hell maybe they even saw their possible futures, more near than they know, in Jillian and me. The atmosphere probably helped a lot but we all clicked together very quickly. Kindred spirits so to speak. I’m probably making this deeper than need be; must be the lack of sleep that I’m still feeling.
The six of us became a group. Geoff and I exchanged numbers at bar one and while we missed each other at bar two we all met up at the last bar open in town located in the old YMCA. Not only was it the last open bar in town but it also featured live entertainment from a full band. Score!
We wrapped up the bar portion of the night with the hair metal glory of “Twist of Faite” at about 3:30 a.m. We poured out into the cold with a few hundred other people and made our way along the ice covered sidewalks back to the hotel. It was time to really bundle up and head to Gobblers Knob! Phil would make his prediction at dawn.
There was a little debate among the group on how to actually get to Gobblers Knob. We were told you could walk there but the actual distance to “The Knob”, as locals call it, varied from 1 mile, to over 3 miles depending on who you talked to. Always the anxious person to experience every aspect of an event, and for some reason the more challenging the better, I casually lobbied for walking up. I didn’t find much support though and with the Punxsutawney School Bus/Gobblers Knob Shuttle sitting right across from our hotel even I knew the decision was obvious. Plus none of us had any idea where we were going and it’s not like there is a nice sidewalk that leads from town out into the woods. I knew our famous last words could have easily been, “How hard could it be to find a weather forecasting groundhog, in the woods, in the dark, in the snow…”
Taking the shuttle turned out to be a good idea because the hike looks to be closer to 3 miles than 1 mile. (Probably just over 2 if I was betting.) The downside to the shuttle was that Geoff and Matt lost a few bottles of alcohol at the small, informal, National Guard security check before getting on the bus. Note I said “few” not “all”.
When we arrived at Gobblers Knob there were probably a couple thousand people there but you could see more folks steadily arriving. The Knob is basically a large slopping, open area, cleared of most trees. About 50 yards downhill from the top, just before the tree line, is a small 3 tiered stage carved out of the dirt by railroad ties. The crowd in front of the stage was pretty thick when we arrived but it was still possible to weasel, or should I say groundhog, your way up front.
On the stage were the Phil Dancers, which looked to be the local high school cheerleading team wearing colorful "Phil" T-Shirts. A couple members of the Groundhog Inner Circle were up there too and basically they were all just helping pass the time. They played music over the PA system and danced around. They told jokes, announced raffle winners, brought up people celebrating birthdays, or people visiting from other countries, etc.; Over 3 hours of “fill” time. As an emcee to many special events in my day it was painful to watch for very long. I’m not mocking them of course. What else are you going to do?
We all watched the stage entertainment for a few minutes but then went to find the bonfire to warm up. I’m not sure how cold it was and I don’t think I even want to look it up when I get home. It was cold and what the actual degree was doesn’t matter. I had enough layers on that if I kept moving I was good…if I kept moving. The minute I stood in one spot for a few minutes I could feel the chill start to work its way around my bones pretty quickly. Jillian’s a South Florida native so it’s hard to tell when she is really cold or just shocked that the temperature is below 65. I think she had enough clothes on but she didn’t keep moving enough and eventually it caught up to her. From 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. I don’t think she had a very good time.
The bonfire was huge but the problem was all the people gathering around it. The front row of people surrounding the fire formed a wall. If you were on the outside of them you couldn’t feel the heat at all, but if you were lucky enough to get into the front row the heat was so intense you could only last a minute.
The 6 of us would gather in a tight group, as close as possible and pass around the drinks that made it up to the Knob. It reminded me of the movie, March of the Penguins. No, the penguins weren’t passing around a bottle of Jager but they would rotate which penguins were on the outside of the group and which ones were in the warmer middle. Instinctively we took up this penguin custom.
It wasn’t all standing around and shivering. For most of the time we all talked, laughed, and told stories. I talked about traveling with Geoff and politics with Matt. Katie had imparted some wisdom to me earlier in the night; that if you have your arms up in a picture it always looks like you are having a great time whether you actually are or not. I cracked up each time a camera went off and I saw her arms up. We all grazed on mini-bagels that Geoff was smart enough to bring and finished off the liquids. It’s hard to think of having a better time just standing around in the cold at 4:30 in the morning.
Around 6:45 a.m. I was surprised by the first fireworks that exploded over the tree line. I remembered seeing it on the groundhog schedule of activities but I had forgotten about it through the night. I don’t know if it was the lack of sleep, or the thought that it was almost time for Phil to come out but as soon as the first starburst exploded I started laughing again. Giddy.
As the explosions lit up the sky and gave a quick break from the darkness I could see how big the crowd was that had gathered on the Knob. I had gotten so used to just huddling in my own little group I had not realized how big the crowd had grown around us. It was a pretty impressive fireworks show too; I would guess a professional company and not just some volunteers randomly lighting some wicks.
I’m not quite sure what they were going for with the musical soundtrack though. It was an odd mix of instrumental music and obscure adult AC. I’m not complaining though, it just made Jillian and me laugh more. Plus I’m sure picking the music for a Groundhog Day fireworks show is not the easiest thing; not a whole lot of groundhog songs out there as opposed to 4th of July tunes. Anyway, the fireworks were a fun addition to the night and it even helped give Jillian her second wind.
After the fireworks show the sky seemed to get lighter almost instantly; from black to gray in one blink. It was sunrise and time for the official ceremony. The crowd soon parted down the middle and in marched the dozen or so members of the Groundhog Inner Circle.
The Inner Circle took the stage, made a few announcements, some introductions, and then it was time. The reason we came by plane, car, and foot to see; the reason why we had not been to bed yet; the reason why we waited out in the cold for hours, it was time for Punxsutawney Phil to check and see if he saw his shadow.
The whole crowd, probably 10,000+, started chanting PHIL, PHIL, PHIL, PHIL… the handler opens the little door and brings Phil out of his stump to a loud cheer. The president of the Groundhog Club speaks to him in whispered “Groundhogese” and then translates Phil’s prediction to the crowd. The crowd was silent…he saw his shadow…6 more weeks of winter! The crowd immediately and in unison started booing. I laughed out loud again.
The President reminded the crowd to not blame the messenger but most of them were already heading back down the hill to town. I took a few more pictures and then followed my fellow penguins as we marched back to town. The plan was to get some breakfast but the limited number of restaurants in Punxsutawney were quickly overrun by Groundhoggers anxious to eat and even more anxious to get warm. It’s probably just as well I don’t think Jillian would have made it through a meal. She crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel, a little after 9 a.m.
Geoff asked us “When was the last time you pulled an all nighter?” I thought about it and was happy to say it was only about a year ago…of course the “kids” all said last week. On this trip they didn’t have a place to stay and never planned on getting one. They just sucked it up, got in Geoff’s car, and drove the 4 hours back to school. Boy I remember those days. Like I said…kindred spirits.
Jillian and I slept until about 2 p.m. today and then got up to find some food, and do some touring of the Groundhog festivities around Punxsutawney like a visit to the local town museum, cultural center, and genealogy office. We strolled through the town square with the craft tents and chainsaw sculpting. Unfortunately we didn’t make it to the official Punxsutawney Store but we have time to hit that in the morning.It is about 7:30 p.m. now and Jillian is taking a little nap before we head out again in search of dinner. In the morning it’s a leisurely drive back to Pittsburgh and a 1:45 p.m. flight back to West Palm…where 6 more weeks of winter is fine with me.
I’m so glad we did this little trip; little only in time spent I guess. Most people don’t understand it but I truly love these kind of things; basically carefree celebrations of life.
There is a movie out right now called The Bucket List that has spawned a few articles and e-mails about creating lists of things to do before you die, or “kick the bucket”, to quote the movie trailer. This comes to mind because someone said it to me last night when they asked me what made us come all the way from Florida just for Groundhog Day. “Is this on your Bucket List?” They asked.
I don’t have any lists like this and I don’t see myself ever starting one. Sure I have things I want to do or see but the idea of writing them down seems odd to me. I think about them all the time. Why would I need a list to remind me? Also they are not things I want to do before I die. They are things I want to do right now!
Plus a list to me conveys the idea that one day I would complete it. I already know that’s not possible because what I want to do its not cross things off a list but rather love everyday; truly live every moment; whether that’s running in the morning before work, sitting in my office learning a new career, hiking a mountain in a far off country, spending time with friends and family.... or celebrating the 122 year tradition of a groundhog predicting the weather.
MJF
Phil Connors
WPBH-TV Action News
