2008 Woodie Awards
Shadow casting
Groundhog Day dashes hopes of early spring
By Ryan Muldowney
Issue date: 2/4/05 Section: Life
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On Tuesday, thousands of people traveled to Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., to witness Phil the groundhog forecast six more weeks of winter. Phil, according to legend, has the power to prognosticate the weather.
Bud Dunkel, past president of The Inner Circle, the group that plans the holiday and hosts the festivities, said the public's fascination lies within the tradition.
"It's just a fun thing for the community," Dunkel said.
Other than an excuse for a good time, Dunkel said Groundhog Day has little impact on culture.
"People just come to observe it," Dunkel said. "As far as making a difference? Did Santa Claus make a difference?"
Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers and was derived from the Scottish tradition Candlemas Day. The current incarnation began in the 1800's, while the first celebration in Gobbler's Knob occurred in 1887.
From the beginning, it was a festivity for the townspeople and a few others who decided to make the journey to Punxsutawney.
"I can recall in the 1970's when there weren't 100 people," Dunkel said. "At that time [Gobbler's Knob] was just a stump in the ground with rocks around it."
Though crowds grew somewhat larger over the years, it remained a small-scale celebration until the Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day" was released in 1993.
"[The crowd] grew by leaps and bounds after that movie," Dunkel said. "Before, there weren't more than 400 or 500 people. After, the crowd swelled to 30,000."
The movie served as the perfect publicity tool, allowing the holiday to become known around the country.
"We had no way to let the world know about the holiday," Dunkel said. "That was worth a million dollars."
A million dollars figuratively and literally. After the holiday was publicized nationally, the town profited.
