Sunday is Groundhog Day! It's nice, because we can watch the festivities on TV live from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania without worrying about getting to work on time. It's always interesting see which Weather Channel personality gets to make the trip.
One of these days I'm gonna make that trip to Punxsutawney. (I know, I keep saying that.) It's on my bucket list (along with a lot of other intriguing activities requiring road trips, such as eating at the last Yogi Bear's Honey Fried Chicken, located in Hartsville, South Carolina).
I thought it was interesting that as far back as 1925, the Lorain Journal was mentioning Punxsutawney in its Groundhog Day coverage. Here's the front page story from Feb. 2, 1925 (below). As noted in comments left on past Groundhog Day posts, the critter didn't get the 'Phil' moniker until much later. Note how other cities also received some coverage for their groundhogs, including Detroit.
Even Lorain's arch rival Elyria received a Groundhog Day mention in the
Journal in 1925.
There was no Groundhog Day coverage of Punxsutawney on Feb. 2, 1935 but a front page
Journal story noted, "If tradition means anything, Lorain can look forward to an early spring because the groundhog failed to see his shadow today – traditional Groundhog Day.
It was a snowy Groundhog Day in Lorain in 1945, with snow blocking secondary roads and with a high of 21 degrees. Nevertheless, Lorain's Groundhog saw his shadow. The story was the same in Punxsutawney, as noted in the
Journal story below from Feb. 2, 1945.
The
Lorain Journal apparently ignored Groundhog Day 1955. Oh well, some years were like that.
But ten years later, the paper mentioned both of Pennsylvania's famous furry forecasters: Punxsutawney Phil and the one at Quarryville. As a bonus, we get a photo of Woody, a groundhog who lives in Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo.
And even the
Journal editorial from that day couldn't resist getting in on the fun.
Anyway, Happy Groundhog Day 2025!
No comments:
Post a Comment