"I WOULD HAVE HIM ON MY DESK EATING CREME PUFFS"

WEATHERMAN AT ODDS WITH GROUNDHOGS' 'PREDICTION'

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 2*, 1925, forecaster Mitchell at the United States Weather Bureau here in the Nation's Capital, when asked about the prospect of "six weeks of wintry weather" based on the groundhogs** at the zoo scampering "back into their dugouts" after seeing their shadows this morning, said...

"If any groundhog could predict anything like that I would have him up here on my desk eating creme puffs."

In contradiction to the groundhogs' prediction, Mr. Mitchell states that "we are in for a spell of weather breathing of spring."

 JFK+50 NOTE

The front page headline adds, "Thinks Beast Is So Dumb He Doesn't Know Shadow."  Sounds like something President Trump might say.

On Sunday, February 2, 2025, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, so "the United States is set for six more weeks of winter."

*February 2nd is celebrated as Groundhog Day in the U.S. & Canada.  It is based on the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that a groundhog emerges from its burrow in the morning of Feb 2nd & if he sees his shadow will go back into his burrow for another 6 weeks of winter weather.  If he does not see his shadow, it means an early spring.

Only 20 times from 1902-2024 has the groundhog reportedly NOT seen his shadow thus forecasting an early spring.

**Groundhogs, a.k.a. woodchucks, are rodents belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots.  They are found in the eastern U.S., Canada & Alaska. 

 SOURCES

"Did Punxsutawney Phil See His Shadow on Groundhog Day 2025?," by Rachel Dobkin, Newsweek, February 2, 2025, www.msn.com/

"Groundhog's Bad Weather Tip Strikes Forecaster As Hokum," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., February 2, 1925, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Groundhog Day

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

Feb 2 2013

photo by Anthony Quintano

PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL

GROUNDHOG DAY ROOTED IN HISTORY

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (JFK+50) Germans, the first settlers of Pennsylvania, brought from Europe the celebration of Candlemas Day.  They said "For as the sunshines on Candlemas, So far will the snow swirl in May."

Their custom was to have clergymen bless candles and give them out to the people.  From Candlemas came Groundhog Day when a groundhog emerges from his burrow and if he sees his shadow predicts six more weeks of winter.

February 2nd, 1886 was the first date of this annual event, but it was not until the following year when the trek was made to Gobbler's Knob here in Punxsutawney.

According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, Punxsutawney Phil was awakened from his burrow at 7:28 this morning by his handlers, John Griffiths and Ron Ploucha, and after seeing his shadow communicated in "Groundhogese" the following...

"Forecasts abound on the internet, But I, Punxsutawney Phil, am still your best bet, Yes, a shadow I see, you can start to twitter, Hash Tag: Six More Weeks of Winter."

Groundhogday 2005

Photo by Aaron Silvers

http://www.mrchompers.net/

Punxsutawney Phil, who is 22 inches long and weighs in at 20 pounds, is described by the Washington Post as "the world's most beloved and furry seasonal prognosticator."

Groundhogs eat greens, fruits and vegetables and drink very little water.  They whistle when alarmed and during courting.  They are very clean animals and one of the very few species which actually hibernate during the winter.

The lifespan of the average groundhog, a.k.a. woodchuck, is from 6 to 8 years, but Punxsutawney Phil (there has only been one in 186 years) is given a magical drink of punch every summer which extends his life another 7 years.

SOURCES

"Groundhog Day 2015: Punxsutawney Phil sees shadow, predicts six more weeks of winter," by Angela Fritz, February 2, 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, www.groundhog.org

Woodchuck Up a Tree

Ottawa, Ontario

Photo by D. Gordon E. Robertson (2008)

PUNXSY PHIL CARRIES ON 126 YEARS OF TRADITION

February 2, 2013

PUNXSY PHIL CARRIES ON 126 YEARS OF TRADITION

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (JFK+50) Will we have six more weeks of winter weather or is an early spring in store?

We found our answer this morning when a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil crawled out of his burrow and due to cloudy conditions did not see his shadow thus predicting an early spring.

                Groundhog Day Ceremony
              Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
               Photo by Aaro Silvers (2005)
               http://www.mrchompers.net

This tradition began 126 years ago today, on February 2, 1887, when a newspaper editor in Punxsutawney declared Phil the groundhog the only accurate weather forecaster in America.

The editor was a member of the local groundhog hunters club.

The idea actually came from Germany where on CANDLEMAS DAY priests gave out candles for the winter and based the number needed on the predictions of hedgehogs.

German immigrants in Pennsylvania brought the tradition to America but used groundhogs* because of their abundance in the region.

*Groundhogs, aka woodchucks, have short, powerful legs and thick curved claws which are great for digging.  

They have 2 coats of fur and live in the wild on the average of 2 to 3 years.  Groundhogs in protective captivity live up to 14 years. 

 The male groundhog actually comes out of hibernation in the middle of winter to search for a mate, then returns to his burrow until spring.

Thousands of people, approximately 30,000 today, come to Punxsutawney's "Gobbler's Knob" to witness PP's emergence from his burrow.

New England poet, Robert Frost, who participated in JFK's 1961 inauguration, wrote a poem about the groundhog titled "A Drumlin Woodchuck"....the 1st 3 verses are...

One thing has a shelving bank
Another a rotting plank
To give it cozier skies
And make up for its lack of size.

My own strategic retreat
Is where two rocks almost meet
And still more secure and snug
A two-door burrow I dug.

With those in mind at my back
I can sit forth exposed to attack
As one who shrewdly pretends
That he and the world are friends.

GROUNDHOG DAY

February 2, 1887


FIRST "GROUNDHOG DAY" CELEBRATION


The 1st "Groundhog Day" celebration was held today at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.  A groundhog named "Punxsutawney Phil" came out of his hole, saw his shadow & thus forecasts 6 more weeks of winter weather.


Groundhogs go into hibernation in late fall.  Their heartbeat slows down from 80 to 5 beats a minute.  The male groundhog emerges from the hole to look for a mate.


Happy Groundhog Day 2011

February 2, 1962


FIRST USAF PLANE CRASHES IN VIETNAM


The United States Air Force announced today that a C-123 aircraft crashed in Vietnam.  This is the 1st aircraft the US has lost in the conflict in Southeast Asia.


The C-123 was in the process of spraying defoliant on a Viet Cong ambush site when it went down.

Among the defoliants the Air Force uses is a chemical stored in orange containers known as "Agent Orange."*


*In the late 1970s, Vietnam veterans will say that Agent Orange is responsible for health problems that they & their families have suffered such as skin rashes, cancer & birth defects.


February 2, 1949


US REJECTS STALIN PEACE CONFERENCE


Secretary of State Dean Acheson announced today the United States is rejecting the proposal put forward by Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin that President Truman meet him in Moscow to discuss peace.


Mr. Acheson says that the proposal by Stalin is simply a "political" maneuver.  Apparently, the only issue Stalin is prepared to discuss is that the US & USSR pledge "not to go to war with each other."

February 2, 1848


PEACE TREATY SIGNED AT GUADALUPE HIDALGO


Today the United States & Mexico have agreed to terms ending the Mexican-American War.  By the treaty, 525,000 square miles of Mexican territory will be transferred to the United States.*


*Out of this territory will eventually come the states of Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico & Arizona as well as parts of Colorado & Wyoming.

February 2, 1943


BATTLE OF STALINGRAD ENDS!


The last German troops fighting in the USSR have surrendered today to the Red Army.  The German invasion of Soviet Russia began on June 22, 1941.  German armies were able to conquer vast amounts of Soviet territory & lay seige to both Leningrad & Moscow.


Premier Stalin then ordered massive reinforcements for defense.  Soviet General Zhukov launched a counteroffensive & the bitterly cold Russian winter bogged the Germans down.*


*There were only 90,000 German soldiers left to surrender.  Of this number, just 5000 returned to Germany alive.