It's almost Groundhog Day 2025!

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!

Groundhog Day in the Journal – 1934, 1944, 1954 & 1964

Here's wishing you a Happy Groundhog Day! It's a nice little bit of fun and whimsy to break up the bleak winter. It's achieved greater prominence in the news in recent decades because of the popular 1993 movie (one of my favorites).

Here on the blog, I've done so many posts about it that it has earned its own label. (Consider visiting some of my old posts for that authentic 'Groundhog Day' deja vu experience! I've also featured so many vintage groundhog postcards that it's a challenge to find a new one each year.

Anyway, I like to see how the holiday played out in the Lorain Journal over the years. Sometimes the paper ignored it, other years it's front page news.

Groundhog Day 1934 included this great front page photo.

Apparently that isn't specifically Punxsutawney Phil in the photo. The article notes, "The groundhog's decision depends on what part of the map he chose to pop out of his hole.

"So far as Lorain is concerned, there were no shadows, the sun being covered by thick clouds throughout the day."

Ten years later on Groundhog Day 1944, the Lorain Journal gave Phil's wartime forecast front page coverage.

Fast forward another decade to Groundhog Day 1954, and the Lorain Journal didn't bother to mention Phil by name. But the forecast was the same: six more weeks of winter.

But by the time of Groundhog Day 1964, Punxsutawney Phil was back in the limelight in the Journal's coverage – and with the same forecast.

 

An official Punxsutawney Phil postcard portrait

 

Groundhog Day in the Journal – 1953 & 1963

Well, it's Groundhog Day – always a fun time on this blog seeing how the holiday played out in the Journal over the years. I've devoted many posts to it, with vintage postcards (such as the one above) dressing up the proceedings.

The Journal didn't always acknowledge Groundhog Day. Sometimes the goings-on in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania made the front page; other years it was ignored entirely.

The paper didn't always go with what Punxsutawney Phil predicted either. A Lorain groundhog was enlisted at least a few times.

And one of those times was on Groundhog Day, 1953, when the Journal editor had some fun with the holiday. In the whimsical article, he hires Woody Woodchuck of Lorain as a freelancer reporter of sorts to get his thoughts on the holiday.

Below is a transcribed version of the story for easier reading.

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Groundhog Explodes Old Myth, Shows Religious Connection

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following consists of a correspondence exchange between the editor of The Journal and Mr. Woody Woodchuck. We believe the letters themselves are more appropriate to use today than would be any story which could be written from them.

• • •

Mr. Woodchuck

13 Pasture Drive, Brown's Farm, Lorain, O.

Dear Woody,

This is written in haste and serves a dual purpose: (A) – It's an apology and (B) – it's a request.

Now, as you know, in past years we've managed to free a reporter from his duties for a whole day, just to interview you on Feb. 2, commonly known as "Groundhog Day." This year we find our reporters are all tied up with other matters and we'd like to ask if you might drop us a line or two, furnishing us with your views on said Groundhog Day.

I you can think of anything else which might be of interest, please add that, but keep it short. We'll expect to pay you for anything you send in and we print.

Cordially,

Mal Hartley,

Editor

• • • 

Mr. Mal Hartley,

Lorain Journal,

Lorain, O.

Dear Mal:

Enjoyed hearing from you today. Haven't heard anything from you since you fell in the entrance hole of my No. 5 den last spring. Couldn't have printed what I heard then anyhow, so guess it's for the best.

Be that as it may, I started to tear up your letter and give it to Mr. and Mrs. Field Mouse next door to use in lining the walls of their new nest (they're buying under the new FHA regulations, you know) when I happened to see the word 'pay' in it.

• • • 

To make a long story short, this has been a pretty rough winter on me – lots of guests dropping in and all that, and I can use some extra cash. Besides, my wife's brother, Goober Groundhog, dropped in for a short visit and has been with us all winter. (We call him Goober because he's nuts.)

I haven't had the education to write the high caliber kind of stuff you print in the Journal, so I'll just give you some facts about this Groundhog Day business and you can do it up as you please.

For one thing, there's a screwy take circulating about that Feb. 2 is the day we woodchucks are supposed to come out of hibernation to see the approach of spring. Well, that's certainly a wacky story to begin with, one any sensible person would laugh at.

Who cares to leave a nice warm bed just to satisfy an ancient superstition? So that's point No. 1. There "ain't no sech day."

If I see my shadow, that's supposed to mean I'll dive back underground and wait for six weeks of rugged weather. If the day is cloudy, however, I'm supposed to believe the next six weeks will be extremely mild. 

Well, you can see for yourself how stupid that is. If it were nice and sunny I'd stay above ground and – well, spring's on the way and there is a good looking little two-year-old over in Joe Williams' pasture. Shared an apple with her one day last fall. Sure is a cute little – oops. Sorry. That doesn't fit with the story, does it?

Anyhow, Groundhog Day is just a superstition. But you probably don't know, is that it's also known as Candlemas and has a religious significance.

Candlemas, that same old Feb. 2, is in commemoration of the presentation of Christ in the Temple. In the West it's known as the "Purification of the Blessed Virgin."

I don't know too much about all this, but my great grandfather, Wilbur Woodchuck, told us that Candlemas used to be on Feb. 14 (now your Valentine Day). You see, that was 40 days after Epiphany and the Armenians still celebrate that day.

But way back after Dec. 25 was finally picked as Christmas, Candlemas was moved to Feb. 2, 40 days after Christmas. In the East it's a festival of Christ and in the West a festival of the Virgin Mother.

I'll admit it's kind of hard to see how a religious observance ties in with Groundhog Day, but this is an American variation of the old tradition in the Christian world that a sunny Candlemas means a cold spring.

As the Scotch say, "If Candlemas is fair and clear, there will be two winters in the year." And here in American, way across the ocean, farmers will tell you, "February, second day, have half your corn and half your hay." That's so the animals will still have food left for the cold spell farmers think'll be coming along.

Maybe this hasn't been just what you wanted, but if it fills the purpose, just pay me off in grass or some other vegetables. I'm feeling kind of hungry after this long nap I just concluded!

Sincerely,

Woody Woodchuck

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Ten years later, the Journal decided to stick with Punxsutawney Phil's forecast, rather than hire local woodchuck talent. Here's the news item that appeared on the front page of the paper on February 2, 1963. Just as he would in 2023 earlier today, Phil predicted six more weeks of winter

Happy Groundhog Day!

Well, it’s Groundhog Day 2022. To kick off the celebration, here are a few vintage postcards (all culled from eBay) in honor of the holiday.

According to the back of this card, this is Punxsutawney Phil at the Civic Center Zoo, instead of his usual digs at Gobbler’s Knob. He looks a little cranky. I like his little groundhog grotto, though.

This 1970 postcard (below) is labeled "PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – Headquarters of the Groundhog.” Phil looks a little younger in this one. Maybe he had a few swigs of his magical punch that keeps him eternally young?

Suspiciously, this postcard with an identical groundhog has the inscription “Greetings from MINERAL CITY, Ohio.” Buckeye Chuck lives in Marion, so I’m not sure who this guy is.

And here’s another Groundhog muscling in on Phil’s turf. The back of the card reads, “Meet “Jimmy the Groundhog” emerging to make his Feb. 2nd prognostication. Resident Celebrity, Jimmy lives in Sun Prairie, WI – The Groundhog Capital of the World!"

And here’s one last groundhog glossy. The caption on the back of this postcard reads, “Yep! I’m a ground hog as any one can plainly see. Nope! I didn’t come out to see my shadow. I do that only on Feb. 2nd.”

But Dan, you might be wondering – where is Phil’s forecast from 1972?

Ah, unfortunately that was one of the years when the Journal completely ignored the festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. 

So here’s the 1952 report from seventy years ago instead. It ran in the Journal on Groundhog Day 1952.  It includes a photo of Punxsutawney Phil and his prediction, but also has a local angle in which a Journal reporter interviews a groundhog. It’s pretty funny how the groundhog showers him with abuse for bothering him.

And from that same edition of the Journal, here’s a cute ad for Employee Transit Lines with a great groundhog illustration.

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For a real dose of Groundhog Day déja vu, be sure to visit my past posts on this topic.

Happy Groundhog Day!

This isn’t Phil; it’s an anonymous groundhog
in Shenandoah National Park

Hey, this isn’t Phil either. It’s just some
Wisconsin groundhog.

Longtime readers of this blog may feel like they’re experiencing their own Groundhog Day time loop as they read today’s post. 

That’s because as usual, I’m posting some vintage postcards and reviewing some of Punxsutawney Phil’s forecasts of the past as reported in the Journal.

We’ll start out on Groundhog Day 1961 – sixty years ago today – which fell on a Thursday. It had been pretty frosty in Lorain, with a low of 4 degrees forecast for that night. (I hope everyone took Reddy Kilowatt’s advice back then and bought one of those newfangled “electric bed coverings.")

While the Groundhog forecast made the front page that year, the article curiously neglected to name which furry meteorologist was doing the predicting. 

At least the Journal gave Mr. Groundhog’s forecast priority on the front page over a rather boring article about the possibility of nuclear war being triggered with the push of a button.

Ten years later on Groundhog Day 1971, Lorain was once again in the icy grip of Old Man Winter. This was the Journal front page article the day before. 

(Note that the cute photograph was taken by our man Gene Patrick. He had a real rapport with young people – in this case, Lorain High School students Colleen O’Brien and Brian McNulty.)

Unfortunately, Punxsutawney Phil didn’t make the front page that year. His forecast (six more weeks of winter, what else?) was buried like an ill-tossed Journal in the snow at the bottom of the Page 2 article about the weather.

Anyway, here’s hoping you have a fun and safe Groundhog Day!

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For more Phil-related Phun, er, fun, why not visit some past Groundhog Day posts?

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UPDATE (Feb. 3, 2021)

Here’s a screen grab of Phil yesterday as the members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club read the "six more weeks of winter” prediction from the scroll. Phil looks kind of ornery!

Groundhog Day in Lorain – 1950 & 1960

Well, Sunday is Groundhog Day – and regular readers of this blog know I like to post about it each year. It's interesting seeing how the newspapers treated it in the past. Sometimes they ignored it, other times it was big news.

On this post, I showed what the Lorain Day News reported for Groundhog Day 1906.

On this post, I featured various Groundhog Days in Lorain, including 1942, 1943, 1951, 1952 and 1962.

I wrote about Lorain's own weather forecasting groundhog in 1959 here.

My 2017 post included the 1947 Journal mention of the holiday. The 2018 post had the 1968 coverage. And last year, my Groundhog Day post highlighted the 1969 celebration, as well as a bunch of vintage postcards.

Onward to this year.

Seventy years ago, the Journal seemingly snubbed Punxsutawney Phil in favor of his Pennsylvania rival: the Quarryville groundhog. Here's what ran on the front page of the Lorain Journal on the eve of the holiday.

But on Groundhog Day itself, the newspaper apparently went with a local groundhog's forecast, noting, "the ground hog failed to see his shadow in Ohio today." Here's the front page article.

Ten years later, Punxsutawney Phil was once again on top, probably thanks to a savvy agent. His forecast was featured in this story that ran on the front page of the February 2, 1960 Journal. However, a local groundhog owned by Ron Clapper of E. 29th Street received photo honors.

Anyway, Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Postmarked August 1943 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Well, it’s Groundhog Day tomorrow – that whimsical holiday break in the dead of winter celebrating the weather forecasting ability of Punxsutawney Phil and giving us all hope for an early Spring.

Seeing how I like to blog about things from a fifty-years-ago perspective, I reviewed Journal microfilm from February 1969 to see what went down in Gobbler’s Knob that year.

But the newspaper completely ignored Groundhog Day 1969 in its news reports! There was neither hide nor hair (or fur) of Phil in the news before, during or after the holiday. Oh well.

(I already posted a story from Groundhog Day 1959 here.)

Anyway, here are some vintage postcards featuring Phil and other groundhogs to help put you in the holiday spirit (all courtesy of Ebay).

From 1948

This guy is on a lot of postcards, including one for Shenandoah National Park

1940s

Here’s one from 1962.

And lastly, here is the most bizarre rendering of a groundhog I’ve ever seen, on a 1907 Easter postcard. It’s as if the artist had no idea what one looked like, so he combined a camel, a chimpanzee and the tail of a sheepdog to create his unappealing illustration. Yecchh!

For more Groundhog Day fun, check out some of my old posts!

Groundhog Day 1968

Yesterday's post dealt with Groundhog Day in Lorain back in 1906. More than sixty years later, the offbeat holiday was still being featured on the front page of the Journal. Above is the coverage from the Feb. 2, 1968 edition of the paper.

It's unusual that the headline refers to the groundhog as a whistlepig. It's a term that you just don't hear that often anymore for the famed weather-predicting critter.

Ever wonder what kind of sound a whistlepig makes? Find out by watching this short video.

I dunno, I had groundhogs living under my deck for years – and there was never a peep out of them.

Anyway, Happy Groundhog Day!

Groundhog Day 1906

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day. Although it might seem that media coverage of it is a relatively new phenomena, here's evidence showing that it's been going on longer than we might think.

Above is the front page of the Lorain Daily News from February 2, 1906. As you can see, a charming illustration of a groundhog wearing a nightcap is front and center.

I’ve left a few of the other articles there too for your reading pleasure. They include a tragedy on the Avon Beach and Southern Railway and a sad story about a Wellington man with a drinking problem.

Anyway, here's the article (below) about that very cold day in Lorain.

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GROUNDHOG SAW SHADOW ON WINTER’S COLDEST DAY
February 2 a Surprise in Chilliness – Extreme Cold Brought Discomfort to Many

B-r-r-r-r-r-r!!!!!!!!!

Gee, but it’s cold! Wow!

The thermometer stood at zero at a number of places in the city this morning at 6 o’clock. Residents spent hours in the attics of their homes freezing their fingers hunting for the old winter cap which was put away last year and which was thought would not be needed this winter. Just where the warm woolen gloves got was a mystery, which puzzled the head of many a family this bright morning.

When sleeping Lorain awoke to business it found a wonderful transformation had taken place. Instead of the balmy spring weather which has greeted the rising world for months, the frost was a quarter of an inch thick on the windows, the furnace was out and in many cases the water in the cold kitchen had frozen solid. When mother went out on the back porch for the morning’s supply of milk she found the lacteal fluid frozen solid and the bottle cracked by the expansion.

As a matter of fact, this is the coldest day of the winter thus far. The government report shows that the maximum temperature for the past twenty-four hours was thirty-one above and the minimum four above.

At George Buell’s residence out on East Erie avenue the temperature stood four above, at the electric waiting room two, Chief of Police Braman’s and Mayor King’s six above. At Mike McGuane’s saloon at 8:30 the thermometer stood at three above and Captain Julian Porter said it was zero at his home early in the morning. Yesterday afternoon the temperature commenced to go down gradually. At midnight it was down to twelve and continued on its downward course until daylight.

At police headquarters this morning, Mayor King, Chief of Police Braman and Officer Holl spun numerous yarns about the cold weather they remembered in June many years ago.

The mayor said he could remember sitting on the fence in his shirt sleeves whittling at a piece of wood when suddenly there was a cool breeze felt across his broad shoulders. Looking up he soon discovered the cause of the cool wave. A large field of ice was floating in the lake, having come all the way from Lake Superior. This story had all the rest beaten and no one attempted to beat it. This mayor asserts, however, that strange as it may sound, the statement was a fact.

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Tomorrow on the actual holiday, we’ll look at Groundhog Day 1968.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Vintage postcard

Although the movie Groundhog Day features the same day repeating over and over again, the holiday is actually pretty different every year.

Some years, Punxsutawney Phil is covered by the media almost to excess, with breathless on-the-spot reports from Gobbler’s Knob; other years, the holiday is practically ignored and the furry forecaster doesn’t even make the newspaper. I guess it depends on how much actual news there is that day.

Things haven’t changed all that much over the years. Seventy years ago, the Lorain Journal ran this rather serious article on the front page on the eve of the holiday in 1947.

Unfortunately, when I checked the next edition of the paper to see what happened, I found: nothing.

Note that the article mentions three different Pennsylvania towns – Quarryville, Allentown and Punxsutawney – all with their own weather forecasting groundhogs. As Jimmy Durante (or Doggie Daddy said, “Everybody wants ta get into da act!"

Nowadays, our local Cleveland TV and radio stations usually mention Buckeye Chuck (who has a miserable forecasting record) or some other groundhog-come-lately. But although I'm a proud Ohioan, I still have to go with Punxsutawney Phil.

In fact, one of these days, I’m going to head to Gobbler’s Knob just to witness the festivities and cross it off my bucket list.

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While preparing this post, I discovered that there must be some truth to the legend that Punxsutawney Phil has managed to live more than a hundred and thirty years by drinking his magical “groundhog punch.” Note that he hasn’t changed a bit on these postcards spanning decades!

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Looking for more Groundhog Day fun?

Back in 2012 (here), I looked at how the Lorain Journal covered the mid-winter holiday through the 40s and 50s.  Then, in 2013 I posted a 1959 Journal article (here) that featured an interview with Lorain’s very own (and uncooperative) weather forecasting woodchuck.

I thought about merely reposting one of these today, but I was worried that a few of my longtime readers might think they were experiencing a Groundhog Day-like flashback.