Punxsutawney

(This fine button was purchased in the Punxsutawney Junior High craft fair on Groundhog Day.)

"I'm not going to be here for the five o'clock. Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, and I'll be travelling to Punxsutawney for our nation's oldest Groundhog festival."

Two pix from my 1995 trip to Punxsutawney with pals Dan and, uh, Dylan(?). Groove the hog hats, a steal at five bucks a pop.

Punxsutawney is indeed a tiny hamlet in Western Pennsylvania. There are approximately 6700 residents, and one can count the number of streets on two hands. This but plays to its advantage. Small town people are more real. Upon entering the village this February second, my friends and I were immediately embraced by the warmth and hospitality of the inhabitants. They glowed with pride, generosity, and a heartfelt desire to sell you souvenirs.

Most of my information about the village comes from Old People. While eating a groundhog lunch in a local church, we met a great many Old People, who brought the rich history and tradition of Punxsutawney to life before our eyes.

Click here for directions to Punxsutawney.

Brief history of Punxsutawney

Punxsutawney was founded by some people who are now dead. The main industry used to be fixing trains and stuff. Old Person: "Punxsutawney boomed with the train yards. We were the major stop-off point between [one big city compared to Punxsutawney] and [another big city compared to Punxsutawney]." Then things took a turn for the worse, and the trains stopped coming so much. Nowadays, the principle industry is Groundhog Day. As well as hosting thousands of people for the actual event, tourists visit the city year-round, and the Punx'y chamber of commerce hinted that there will be some sort of week-long Groundhog festival this coming summer. According to the Old People, the event has been growing every year for as long as they can remember, and the movie has certainly helped things.

We wish them the best of luck.

Other Things in Punxsutawney

A whole lot of statues, wood carvings, and pictures of Punxsutawney Phil, the world's most famous weatherperson.

The Groundhog Zoo. Permit me to quote from The Punxsutawney SPIRIT (the source which touts: "For The Complete Groundhog Schedule of Events, Groundhog Related Stories and Updates . . .") -- "Thousands of visitors stop at the Groundhog Zoo each year. Located in the Punx'y Civic Center, off Barclay Square, Phil makes the zoo his home year-round . . . except for Groundhog Day, of course, when he emerges [alertly but reluctantly] from his famous stump high atop Gobbler's Knob to the delight of millions [quoted figure] of weather watchers and followers."

The Library. I don't know if this library has "groundhog" or "Phil" in its title, but I'd be willing to place a bet.

Click to get a big old map of Punx'y

Things that are in Punxsutawney and in the movie

Parts of the speech when Phil emerges.

The Groundhog Club (white men in Tuxes.)

Gobbler's Knob. However, in the movie Gobbler's Knob (what sort of name is that? a cool one) is in the middle of town, and in real life it's a couple miles out of town.

That huge 2-D statue of Phil that Bill Murray crashes into with Gus and Ralph (third day.) (This statue, according to aforementioned Punxsutawney SPIRIT, is the largest statue of a groundhog in the world. Imagine that.)

The Groundhog Dinner (sort of).

The way people party all night (Yeah. They're hicks, Rita.)

Small-town spirit.

Back to the Groundhog Day home page.

miller@minerva.cis.yale.edu

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