| | | | | provided). In Punxy, the wings come as whole large |
| Are they crazy about groundhogs in Punxsutawney, | | | | fellas, no “drumettes” here. Hot means hot. |
| Pennsylvania? You betcha. The place is lousy with | | | | And a dozen was WAY too much. |
| them. Groundhogs adorn homes and businesses like | | | | With a little schmoozing, Christine allowed us to view |
| the Baby Jesus does at Christmastime most other | | | | (but not sample, as it was part of a collection of the |
| places. It happens we were visiting the “Weather | | | | annual releases) some “Groundhog Brew”-- |
| Capital of the World” in December and the good | | | | the beer favorite of most of the Inner Circle. |
| people of “Punxy” really know how to inflate | | | | Another local favorite is a “Gobblers Knob” -- |
| a holiday decoration and park it next to a giant | | | | Groundhog Brew with brown whiskey. After dinner |
| fiberglass woodchuck. | | | | we shot a few games of pool with the locals and |
| Not counting groundhogs (real, wooden, fiberglass, | | | | bugged out of there before the drunken hunters |
| bronze, or welded metal) the town of Punxsutawney | | | | came in and shot us because we weren’t |
| has a population of a bit above 6,700. Legend has it | | | | wearing day-glow orange. |
| that the name came from a defeated Native | | | | On the way back to The Pantall, we went for a |
| American sorcerer who was killed in combat. The | | | | romantic walk through the Tree Circle in the town |
| ashes of his burnt body turned to sand fleas or | | | | square to see the beautifully lit trees decorated by |
| “Ponksad” and through these lovely fleas he | | | | local schools and community groups. Hand in hand, we |
| continued his harassment of man. Ponksad-uteney | | | | wondered in the crisp winter air when suddenly a |
| means “The town of the Sand fleas.” We | | | | sharp screech broke the silent night. We spun around |
| saw neither flea nor sorcerer on this trip, so | | | | just in time to see a jolly family of chucks dashing |
| we’re assuming the town has rid itself of these | | | | back into their hole on the top of the |
| pests. Or maybe we were just lucky that the vermin | | | | tree-clock-glockenspiel in front of the Fraternal Order |
| weren’t out and about in December. | | | | of Eagles lodge across the street. It was ten |
| Like a lot of folks, we learned about Punxsutawney | | | | o’clock. |
| from the movie “Groundhog Day” which | | | | Breakfast the next day at the hotel restaurant |
| celebrates the town’s annual tradition of yanking | | | | further impressed us with its décor of either very |
| a large rodent out of a stump so he can predict the | | | | homey or garage sale chic. David’s mug said |
| weather. This occurs every February 2nd, right | | | | “Class of 2001." Veronica’s: “Happy |
| smack between the winter solstice and the spring | | | | Birthday.” The breakfast was hearty, the coffee |
| equinox, in a tradition that dates back to the ancient | | | | excellent and the waitress funny and attentive. |
| European holiday of Candlemas. Even though both | | | | With our bellies full, we ventured out to see the |
| holidays include springtime predictions, the Europeans | | | | town by the light of a grey winter day. Our first stop |
| had yet to discover camping out, tailgating or | | | | was the town library where the famous woodchuck |
| shadows of furry prognosticators. All they did was | | | | himself resides. Punxsutawney Phil and his |
| look up to see if it was sunny or cloudy and then, as | | | | “wife” Phyllis spend everyday but the big |
| now, sunshine meant six more weeks of winter. | | | | one in their climate controlled den which can be |
| The first whistle pig was held high above the now | | | | viewed from outside or inside the library. |
| famous Gobbler's Knob (heh heh, gobblers, knob) just | | | | The next stop was The Wizard’s Workshop and |
| outside Punxutawney in 1887. It’s doubtful | | | | it turned out to be a must-see. The proprietor, |
| anyone at the time expected this humble knob would | | | | Randy “The Wizard“ Rupert, is an ice |
| become the epicenter of seasonal forecasting. A | | | | sculpting champion and now uses the same chainsaw |
| handful of the top hat bedecked “Inner | | | | technique on various sized parts of trees. With our |
| Circle” of the Groundhog Society are the sole | | | | usual snarky attitude, we entered past the sign that |
| keepers of the long-held secret rituals. Once | | | | read “What ‘wood’ you like for |
| ensconced amongst the elite few of the circle, an | | | | Christmas” and “Come see what I saw” |
| aisle at the local supermarket will bear your name -- a | | | | expecting a hoot but instead walked into a true |
| high honor indeed. | | | | master’s den. Oh, the joys we found there. |
| Our intention was to stay at the Hotel | | | | Randy, the only true link we found to the movie, |
| Punxsutawney, but once David started singing | | | | was the guy who taught Bill Murray how to pretend |
| “Welcome to the Hotel Punxsutawney--you can | | | | ice sculpt. The angelic ice carving in the movie is his, |
| check out anytime you like, but you can never | | | | ditto the electric chainsaw Bill used for the movie. |
| leave,” we decided not to chance it. We crossed | | | | The saw is prominently displayed in the store along |
| the street to the Pantall Hotel instead. Here they had | | | | with a VCR tape and poster of the celebrated flick. |
| a Victorian Ladies Entrance, two cans of snuff on the | | | | The most charming aspect of the workshop is Randy |
| landing and tract on the hotel desk that was kind | | | | himself, who jawed with us for quite sometime about |
| enough to inform us that we were “going | | | | his art, the movie and the town itself. |
| straight to hell” before we even had a chance to | | | | The perfect ending to our trip came with a visit to |
| check in. Even though they choose to brag about | | | | Gobbler's Knob. Just follow the whistle pig prints up |
| “ironed sheets“ numerous times on their | | | | Woodland Avenue to the weather forecasting center |
| website, ours were not. Why the hell would you iron | | | | of the world. In December, it’s a lonely |
| sheets anyway? The bed was comfy, the people | | | | place--but the impression of the grandeur of the |
| were nice, and the housekeeper was dressed in | | | | February 2nd celebration is there. The Knob is |
| Amish attire. We don’t believe it was her snuff | | | | festooned with signs and art dedicated to the most |
| on the windowsill, but it may just be that we are | | | | famous seer of them all, Punxsutawney Phil, including |
| ignorant of the ways of the Amish. | | | | the greeting “Can you believe it… we’re at |
| The desk clerk seemed genuinely surprised that we | | | | Gobblers Knob.” There are sculptures of Phil |
| might want to eat dinner on a Sunday night. He | | | | portraying the various diversions he participates in his |
| dubiously suggested the sports bar at the Hotel | | | | off season, including motorcycling. Unlike Santa, he |
| Punxsutawney as the only open place in town. | | | | does not have career obligations outside of his holy |
| Oh-Kay. The place was occupied by a few | | | | day, so Phil apparently has many hobbies. |
| down-on-their-luck patrons eating peanuts off of | | | | As we walked back to the car, we discussed coming |
| paper plates (a second one was provided for shells). | | | | back for Groundhog Day, but decided that we saw |
| Our bartender, Christine, assured us that business | | | | Punxsutawney in its true form -- small, homey, |
| picked up around eleven once “the hunters came | | | | cheerful, and with a great sense of humor about |
| in after drinking all day.“ The menu was basic | | | | itself. To a GypsyNester, life doesn’t get better |
| freezer to deep fryer, but we lucked out with some | | | | than that. |
| delicious burgers and chicken wings (sometimes meat | | | | David & Veronica, GypsyNester. |
| avoiding is impossible, but carrots and celery were | | | | |