#196 FEB 2017

Frank and Jane Harl - Anchors of their Family On the cover:

Frank and Jane Harl have served Punxsutawney First United Methodist Church faithfully for many years.

(Photo by Brianna Stewart Photography)

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Punxsy Proud — Boosting our Hometown!

Publisher Mary L. Roberts Advertising Mary L. Roberts Tracey Young Contributing Writers S. Thomas Curry Shirley Sharp Mary Ellen Pollock-Raneri Marty Armstrong Editor James Lauffer Art Director Melissa Salsgiver Graphic Artists Melissa Salsgiver Nicole McGee Joanna Erzal

F

In 1952, a Bostonian Shoes / Harl’s sign hangs over the entrance to Harl’s In 1975, under the ownership of Frank Harl, Jr., Harl’s Shoe Store was still Shoe Store in downtown Punxsutawney. The family-run store closed in part of the Punxsutawney streetscape. (photo courtesy of the Punx- “1994 or 1995,” according to Frank Harl. (photo courtesy of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society) sutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society)

By Jim Lauffer of Hometown magazine rank and Jane Harl, of Punxsutawney, celebrated a significant milestone in the third quarter of 2016 – on November 10, they marked their seventieth wedding anniversary.

“It just comes and goes every year!” said Jane as she and Frank begin their seventyfirst year together.

Frank and Jane first met while they were elementary school students at Jenks Hill School, and both are members of the Punxsutawney High School Class of 1945.

Except for a local building project, Frank might not have met his life partner – he was a student at Jenks Hill for only a short time.

“I walked to school and went to the old Mary A. Wilson School,” he said. “When I was in sixth grade, they started building the new Mary A. Wilson, so I went to Jenks Hill School and finished sixth grade.”

Both Frank and Jane were born and raised in the area. “I was born in Cloe,” said

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had been declared on May 8, 1945, but World War II continued to be fought in the Pacific Theater until August 14, 1945, when Japan surrendered unconditionally.

“I knew I was going to be drafted, so I volunteered for the Navy Air Corps and was sworn in Pittsburgh at the old post office,” said Frank. His daughter Flo lives within walking distance of where her father was inducted.

Frank attended basic training in Memphis, Tennessee. “I was there when the war ended. We did a victory march in Memphis even though we were still in training,” said Frank. “Women came up to me and kissed me. I wasn’t used to that.”

The victory celebration created a sticky situation for Frank. “I was on guard duty, and my company commander wanted to enter the base,” recalled Frank, “but he was drunk and didn’t have his pass.” Because his company commander didn’t have the proper credentials, Frank couldn’t and didn’t let his - Continued on page 4

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Frank. “The old farm is still there. I trapped on it this winter.” Jane was born in Punxsutawney.

“I lived on the farm in the summer, and in the winter we moved back into Punxsy, where we lived on Greenwood Avenue,” continued Frank. “We had a potbelly stove to keep the house warm.”

“He tells everyone that he was born under the sink,” smiled Jane.

“The first thing I remember is getting a bath in the sink, so I tell everyone that I was born under it!” Frank explained, expanding the story.

Frank and Jane are the parents of seven children (from oldest to youngest, Sandy, Linda, Barb, Flo, Frank III, Kathy, and Mary Bea) – Mary Bea passed away at eight years of age – thirteen grandchildren, and twenty-six great-grandchildren.

Framed pictures of their progeny nearly cover a wall of their living room.

Frank turned eighteen in June 1945. Victory in the European Theater of Operations

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Resolutions Run Amok!

Welcoming the New Year!

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By Mary Ellen Pollock-Raneri for Hometown magazine ew Year’s resolutions. I get so tired of all the weight-loss commercials and crowded gyms this time of year. If I resolve to buy a $3,000 piece of exercise equipment, I will be fit and healthy. If I resolve to eat prepackaged diet food and drinks, I’ll be sleek and trim. If I put on tights and work out on the machinery at the nearby fitness club, I’ll have more athletic friends – that’s for sure. But here’s a thought from the Wayback Machine (thanks to Dr. Trunzo, former Punxsutawney physician and the man who delivered me at the Adrian Hospital) – if you step away from the table, you’ll lose weight – no gyms, no machines, no fuss! I consider that the soundest piece of advice for New Year’s resolutions that I ever heard – and it was pretty much free!

Now, I’m not saying that folks have bad intentions when they resolve to do something –everyone needs to have a goal. But, why does the resolution-making have to be on January 1st? Why do we feel compelled to make promises to ourselves that we know we won’t keep?

When I asked my mom if she thinks people should make resolutions for the New Year, she said (and without a sniffle of hesitation), “Why bother – they don’t keep them.”

Now that observation comes from my mom – Lucy, the Great Seer and philosophical guru with almost ninety-five years on this groovy earth.

However, since I’ve never listened to my mom a day in my life (much to my, and her, dismay), I decided to make a New Year’s Resolution List – a list that is genuine and comes from my heart. It’s a list that, well, has some flaws and allows for a little failure. But it’s also a list that provides fun for all of us who like to chuckle at our human foibles and who like to poke fun at the custom of making a self-improvement plan once a year. Best of all, they are resolutions that I may actually keep.

Resolution 1. I have resolved to take down all my Christmas decorations before

summertime. Yes, I am one of those folks who linger on the holiday. It saddens me to watch the neighborhood decorations slowly disappear one by one into the Land of AfterChristmas Darkness. When I was a little kid, I considered the people who left up their lights and baubles and plastic Santas to be the cool people – the ones with the real Christmas spirit. These days, I still kind of feel that way as I mosey about the neighborhood during my evening walk and try to spy a house with a stray strand of colored lights or an abandoned bit of holly strung about their mailbox.

I have finally succumbed to a plan that is not so painful for de-decking the holiday halls. I remove one or two things a day, with the tree being an excruciating, three-day extravaganza as we remove and pack ornaments on one day, lights on the next, and then on the final day – alas! – sadly pack the tree in the garbage bag and haul it by the side of the garage for pickup.

Miraculously, though, I had an epiphany this year. It’s much easier and far less depressing if I let my husband, Phil, perform the removal of the tree and other ornaments.

Although you may think this is a big copout, a lazy escape, or a “stick your head in the plum pudding” way to ignore the job of “de-tinsel-ification,” this method works well for my psyche and overall after-Christmas mental health. Phil, however, may have other thoughts about it.

Resolution 2. I resolve to buy better dental floss. My husband always picks the cheapest stuff that has ever been woven around a spool. I swear that if he could buy “recycled” floss that has cleaned other people’s teeth, he would. I plan to buy nice thick, slippery, and tasty (cinnamon or mint) floss. Plus, I plan to hide it in the back of the drawer in my bathroom so only I can use it.

Resolution 3. I resolve to eat more oatmeal. Not! This isn’t going to happen but I’m throwing it out there for those of you who need a real resolution to chew on (excuse the pun). My mother has eaten oatmeal every day of her life, though. Considering she is approaching the HUGE century milestone, she must be doing something right.

Mom will be pleased that I have resolved to eat this cereal, but, deep in her heart, she knows I am messing with her. Poor Mom! Resolution 4. I resolve to post more pic-

tures of Jerry Mathers as the Beaver and Ken Osmond as Eddie Haskell on my Facebook page. I loved that show! I am so tired of looking at selfies, recipes, and reading about other’s exercise workouts. I want some good old-fashioned nostalgia. I want to see June Cleaver dressed in her frock with pearls about her neck, and I want to see Ward laying down the law. I want to see life the way it used to be – when kids lost their lunch money in a marbles game and the town bully got his comeuppance once in a while.

Resolution 5. I resolve not to shut off the lights when my husband practices his drums. My husband, Phil (appropriate prénom for the Land of the Groundhog), collects drums and fancies himself quite the drummer. He was in the high school band, but that was the last of his official drum training. Need I say more? He does love to drum, though, and I really try to appreciate his paradiddles.

Usually, when we get company, he takes them down into the depths of our game room where he has all his percussion displayed in full regalia. Next, he pounds on his kits with gusto. He tries the drum beat from, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” and he attempts to drum like Stewart Copeland from the Police. He tackles polka beats, swishes out a little brush work, or bangs a cowbell (and we all need a little more cowbell in our lives). Lastly, he finishes with “Wipe Out,” by the Surfaris, or he bangs out the drum solo from the Iron Butterfly’s “InA-Gadda-Da-Vida” – playing these solos was a rite of passage for drummers of a certain age!

I have to be honest – it’s about all I can take. Even my two wiener dogs hide their furry heads under the blankets on the coach

as the deafening licks invade the solitude.

So, that’s when I play, “Boom, Boom Out Go the Lights.” I don’t even need an instrument – I just use the light switch. My question to the reader is this: Do you think I can keep my resolution?

Resolution 6. I resolve to keep my plastic kitchen containers neat and tidy. This includes arranging them in my cupboards with the appropriate matching lids. Of course, this is never going to happen, and I will end up trying to fit a round lid on a square piece of Tupperware. Also, I will have to resort to plastic wrap and aluminum foil toppers on my Glad Matchware that doesn’t match anymore.

Resolution 7. I resolve to watch more Lifetime movies. Oh no! Say it’s not so!

Why do I like them so much? Sometimes, I just need a non-cerebral vacation. Sometimes, I don’t want to be educated. Sometimes, I don’t want to listen to politics. And, sometimes, I certainly don’t want to learn to eat healthy. Plus, the films often use the same actors in multiple movies. It’s like a big soap opera family! In addition, you can tune into Lifetime all day, every day, and can even sit for hours enjoying holiday Lifetime marathons that are not about the holidays. If there were a Lifetime movie about making New Year’s resolutions, no one would keep them. Now, that’s my kind of show!

Resolution 8. I plan to clean my hardwood floors every day. A big NOT times two. Although I would love to be like the people in television commercials with sparkling clean wood floors, it ain’t happening! The house is tidy enough, and we can find the countertops, the kitchen table, and the front door.

And as long as I can find my laptop to write, I’m okay with the current state of affairs.

- Continued on page 14

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4 – Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196

Frank and Jane

For his part, Frank was uncertain about his future. “I didn’t know what to do with my life,” he said. “I went to Pitt after I got disContinued from page 2 charged.”

Frank attended the University of Pittscompany commander through the gate. burgh on the G.I. Bill, which paid for all but “He really called me out,” said Frank. The $700 of his four-year college costs. Frank officer-in-charge supported the young seagraduated with a Bachelor of Science deman’s decision, however, and the incident gree in business. became a ripple in Frank’s memory.

At Pitt, Frank realized what he would do A hometown connection’s help gave after graduation. “It was a shocker to me Frank options at the end of basic training. when I realized that I would go into the “A friend of the family, Dr. Ken Jones of shoe business,” he said. “Dad had a shoe Big Run, introduced me to all the bigshots store, but when I was younger, I didn’t reon base, so I could go on to being a pilot,” ally want to go into the shoe business.” said Frank. However, when the time came Frank may not have known that his future for him to sign a four-year enlistment exlay with the family business, but he was tension, Frank decided not to extend his certain that he wanted to spend his life with time in the Navy.

Jane, whom he first So after basic met in grade school training, Frank – the young lady went to Norman, who was a member Oklahoma, to atof the group who mechanics tend went to movies and school. He had out for chocolate been offered the milk and hot dogs. option to continue In September 1946, his training to beFrank decided to come a radio man, propose to Jane, but he opted to beand he did so in a come a mechanic. somewhat unortho“I wanted to be a dox manner. mechanic,” he said.

“He came down “I didn’t want that to Pittsburgh while tap-tap-tapping in I was still there,” my ears.” recalled Jane, “and Frank enjoyed the he told me to look monthly paycheck in the glovebox.” that the Navy proThe glovebox convided. “I thought I tained a jewelry was a millionaire!” box, which conhe remembered. “I tained an engagewrote checks, but I ment ring. never wrote them “I was so nervous for the full amount that my hands were of my pay.” Because he was care- Frank and Jane Harl celebrated their seventieth shaking,” admitted ful with his money, wedding anniversary on November 10, 2016, but Frank. “I had trouFrank sometimes they have known each other much longer – since ble putting the ring on her finger.” had money to lend the sixth grade. (photo by Jim Lauffer) Getting engaged buddies who were proved easier than tying the marriage knot. less careful with their paychecks. Once he “We tried to elope three times, and nobody lent a friend $20, which the friend immediwould marry us because we looked so ately lost in a poker game. When he, with young,” Frank said with a smile. “Once we empty hand extended, came again to Frank, went to West Virginia, but they said that the he discovered that his buddy wouldn’t give woman had to be from the state to be marhim money only to see him gamble it away. ried there. I think they were just telling us “I couldn’t lend him money for that,” he that.” said.

Finally, Frank’s older sister Flo came to Frank was honorably discharged from the the rescue of the couple. “Flo lived in Navy after serving, in his words, “one year, Greensburg, and she said, ‘I’ll fix it up for two months, and three days.” you,’” said Frank. And she did. Frank and During high school, Frank and Jane had Jane were married in Jeannette in the house spent time together – but not as boyfriend of a Presbyterian minister. and girlfriend. “I don’t know if I’d call it “He was an older preacher, and he kept dating,” recalled Jane. “We were always telling us about how he had painted his with a group of friends, and we did everyhouse,” Frank recalled. “It was getting tething together.” dious hearing about his painting. We “At that time, there were two theaters in wanted to get married!”

Punxsy,” Jane continued. “We’d go to one Finally, however, the “I do’s” were exon Friday night and then go to the other on changed and Frank and Jane became husSaturday night, and we always had parties band and wife, establishing a bond that afterwards.” continues into its seventy-first year. Frank “Back then, we could get two hot dogs and expressed humorous relief. “I had my suit chocolate milk for fifty-two cents,” added about worn out,” he said.

Frank.

After the marriage, Frank returned to the When Frank returned to Punxsutawney University of Pittsburgh, and Jane returned after being in the Navy, he found that things to nursing school, where she now faced a had changed and that friends had moved on dilemma. The hospital had a policy that with their lives. “When he got out of the jeopardized Jane’s career choice. “Students service, all his friends were either in college weren’t allowed to be married,” she said. “I or still in the service,” said Jane, who had waited four months before I told them, and also begun training for a career. out I went. They were very strict at that “After high school, I went to nurse’s traintime.” ing at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh,” she said.

- Continued on page 6

I

Sam Light, the Man and the Legend

By the Coal Memorial Committee for Hometown magazine

n the annals of groundhog history in Punxsutawney, Sam Light, a coal operator, served as the Groundhog Club president from 1952 to 1976 and led the group to develop the modern Ground-

honing Street, including Church Street, Morrison Avenue, and Mitchell Avenue.

Residents in the area included the likes of Jacob Fisher, a noted attorney; W.O. Smith, editor of the Punxsutawney Spirit; E.W. Robinson, mining engineer and brother of mine superintendent Lucius W. Robinson; Samuel Rinn, coal operator; and his brother-in-law T.M. Kurtz, coal operator and state Senator; and other community leaders of the day. It was a dynamic place to live.

By working with and learning from his neighbors, Abe Light established himself as a businessman. In 1903, Abe Light obtained land just off Mitchell Avenue near the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Railroad and constructed a building to house his growing scrap iron business. In 1905, Abe along with Edwin Robinson and Frank Lang incorporated the Lindsey Iron and Metal Company. And in 1910, Rachel and Abraham Light and Jacob and Carrie Fisher were the incorporators the Lindsey Coal Company.

The Light family grew with the addition of two sons, Oscar and Lester, who died at eight months, and three daughters, Ann, Frances, and Rosalind. By 1906, their house was bursting at the seams, and it had to be enlarged to contain their growing family. Sam, in 1908, at age twelve,

spent the summer in Chicago, where he attended Hebrew school.

In 1909, when Sam Light was thirteen, Punxsutawney undertook an effort to hold an Old Home Week celebration. The Punxsutawney Spirit widely promoted the effort with a five dollar prize for the best recommendation of a schedule for the week. One recommendation was that the event ought to include clean amusements and privileges: “No snake-eating, hoochee-couchee, gambling, wild man of Borneo, fakes and immoral and disgusting exhibitions permitted. Our present mayor says there shall be none such – nothing unclean or corrupting during Old Home Week or any other week and that settles it.”

The enthusiasm throughout the commu- Continued on page 16

Sam Light graduated from Punxsutawney High School as a member of the Class of 1915.

He was recognized for his mathematical ability and for his desire to be a successful financier. (photo courtesy of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society)

Sam Light, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club from 1952 to 1976, met the challenges of the new means of communication of his day, including the television and the developments of space age technology.

He, through his leadership and innovation, provided the foundation for many of the Groundhog Day traditions observed today. (photo courtesy of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society)

hog Day celebration.

Sam Light was born in Punxsutawney in 1896 to immigrant parents, Abe Light and Rachel Frank. Abe Light had come from Lithuania to Punxsutawney in the early 1890s as a peddler who traveled to the mining communities selling his wares.

Shortly after his arrival, Abe met and married Rachel Frank. Through hard work and determination, Abe became a respected business man.

The Light family moved to a house on Church Street in 1900. Church Street was situated in the densely populated section south of Mahoning Street, between Gilpin Street and Mitchell Avenue. This area of Punxsutawney was undergoing rapid development as grand homes were being constructed in the area along West Ma-

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Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196 – 5

Frank and Jane

Continued from page 4 After being dismissed from nursing school, Jane returned to Punxsutawney.

Frank didn’t work at the shoe store until after he returned from the Navy; however, while in college, he worked weekends at Harl’s. After graduating from Pitt in 1951, Frank began working full time at the shoe store.

The roots of Harl’s Shoe Store extended back to the nineteen-teens – “nineteensomething or other,” said Frank. “Grandpa was a lumberman, and someone owed him money. He owned a small store in Punxsy and offered it,” continued Frank. “Dad heard him and wanted the store. It was an Army and Navy Store and sold a little bit of everything. Pop became interested in shoes” And the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

According to Frank, over the years, Harl’s was located “all over the downtown” but was always located on “the main drag of Punxsy.”

Frank and Jane set up their household in Punxsutawney – a house filled with children and a property filled with animals.

“We had cows, chickens, ducks, pigs, and cats and dogs,” said Jane. “We made our own cheese and grape juice.”

“Frank always loved animals,” continued Jane. “I wanted him to be a veterinarian.”

“He loves trapping, hunting, and fishing – in that order,” said his daughter Sandy Winger.

“Fishing is probably second now,” said Frank.

At an early age, Frank recognized that he had a certain affinity with a small mammal that generally sends folks running from it – the skunk. He grinned as he shared a handful of skunk-related stories.

“I once trapped a skunk before school started at Jenks Hill when I was in sixth grade. It sprayed, but I didn’t think that it got me that bad, so I went to school,” he said. “After a while, my teacher said,

‘Frank, you’d better put on your galoshes and go home.’” So home he went!

“A man came into the store and said he had a skunk problem. I said I’d set a trap for them,” Frank continued. “I caught something like eighteen skunks in his yard.

I sold the pelts in Sykesville.”

“I’ve been trapping skunks for people in Punxsy ever since,” he said with a grin.

Frank also had a skunk as a pet. “I had a baby skunk – I don’t remember how I got it,” he said. “Mom was in the hospital. I had slipped the skunk into my coat pocket before I came to visit. The baby skunk ran all over mom’s hospital bed.”

“We kept it until it was about fifteen pounds; then we let it go,” Frank continued.

“It was a black skunk with distinctive marks – a white spot on its head and on its tail. Black skunk were worth quite a bit back then.”

“One night, it crossed the road in front of me and went under the neighbor’s porch. I called it and it came out,” he said. “But it didn’t want to come home and went back under the porch. That was the last time I saw it.”

Frank’s trapping, hunting, and fishing brought a variety of fish and game home to the kitchen. “Mom always said that she could cook anything that Dad brought home – and she could!” said Sandy. “She’s the best cook and baker around.”

Jane had a cooking and baking ministry at the church, helping out at various functions.

According to Sandy, her mom’s bread and cream puffs were especially noteworthy.

“Back then the man was the breadwinner and the woman stayed home and kept the family,” added Jane.

Sandy added that her mother faced one particular challenge every mealtime.

“Mom’s biggest challenge was getting enough food for herself. She always got what was left over,” Sandy said. “She made sure that everyone else had enough before she took for herself.”

In 1962, Frank’s dad, Frank “Pop” Harl, gave the shoe store to him, though he never stopped coming into the store. “He was

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down there all the time,” Frank said. Pop Harl passed away in 1968 at age seventysix.

“Pop also liked trapping, hunting, and fishing,” Frank added, “but he never got into it as hard as I did.”

According to Frank, Harl’s Shoe Store had at least five different store fronts over the years. Frank retired as owner of the store in 1989, and daughter Flo took over. Frank, like Pop, never really quit working at the store. Flo closed the store around 1994 or 1995. “The last place we were was next door to where the Subway is now,” he said.

Sandy’s most vivid childhood memory related to the shoe store is riding on a float during the Christmas Parade. “We dressed as Buster Brown and Robin Hood – two of the shoe brands we sold – and rode rocking horses on a float,” she recalled. “I still remember freezing!”

“I pulled the float with a tractor,” Frank added.

The First United Methodist Church, located on West Mahoning Street, played an important role as Frank and Jane raised their family. “Every time the church was open, we were there,” Sandy recalled. The “every time” included not only Sunday school and services and mid-week services, but also missionary conferences that the church held. The Harl house was often a temporary home for visiting missionaries.

Jane believes that the missionaries exerted an influence on her family. “The missionary conferences influenced our son,” she said. Frank III is a financial engineer with Campus Crusade for Christ. He joined Campus Crusade’s Athletes in Action as a wrestler, and he and his wife, Kathleen, have been with Campus Crusade for nearly forty years. “He’s been all over the world,” said Jane.

“I’d always wanted a son, so I asked the Lord, ‘If you give me a son, and he wants to follow you, I’ll never stand in his way,’” Frank said quietly. The Lord answered Frank’s (and Jane’s) prayer, and Frank kept up his end of the bargain.

“He lives in Cincinnati,” continued Frank.

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“When he comes home, we hunt deer a little.”

Frank has always liked to sing, though at times, he lacked a forum for his voice. In high school, during choir practice, a girl dropped her mittens. Frank stooped to pick them up and returned them to her. Unfortunately, the music teacher, Phil Kester, thought that Frank was merely talking during practice, so he kicked him out of the choir. Undeterred, Frank went to the First United Methodist Church to sing in the church choir – without knowing that Mr. Kester the church’s choirmaster!

Frank continues to add his tenor voice to the church choir for its Christmas and Easter cantatas. “I’d still be singing in the choir if we had one,” he said.

Music runs in the Harl family. Sandy is a church organist, and daughter Linda is both a pianist and an organist.

In addition to singing in the church, Frank has served on a number of church boards, including the missions board. He has also been active in the community for years. He is a member of the Lions Club and was once named “Lion of the Year.” He continues to serve on the board of the Salvation Army – “from the fifties until now,” he said.

Frank was also active in Boy Scouts for a numbers of years and served as Scoutmaster for a time. He also spent time as a member of the Red Cross board.

Frank and Jane live in the house that Pop built with help from Frank. According to Sandy, all the stones used in building the house were carried by hand to the building site.

Pop Harl was probably as well known in the Punxsutawney area for his baseball acumen as for his shoe-selling. “He brought baseball to Punxsutawney,” said Sandy. Pop also served as a scout for the American League’s Baltimore Orioles. He acted as an advocate for many local ballplayers – players like Jim Stello, who played shortstop for Pop’s Red Sox of the City Baseball League.

In a column, Punxsutawney Spirit sports editor Sam German noted that Pop Harl - Continued on page 20

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By the staff of Hometown magazine

rom the staff of Hometown magazine and the Community Calendar at Punxsutawney.com, here is a list of events coming up in our area: n The Punxsutawney Memorial Library starts its children’s literacy programs this week. Visit or call the library at 938-5020 for more information. n The Salvation Army re-starts its Afterschool youth programs this week.

Call 938-5530 for more information. n Jan. 28: Breakfast with Phil, 8 to 11 a.m., at Gobbler’s Knob. $10 tickets can be purchased at Groundhog Club Headquarters. n Jan. 29: “Gobbler’s Knob Got Talent” preliminaries, 4 p.m., at Punxsy Area Community Center. n Feb. 1: “Night at the Museum,” 6 to 8 p.m., Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, 401 W. Mahoning St. n Feb. 1: Museum hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, 401 W. Mahoning St. n Feb. 2: Groundhog Day! Check out the complete Groundhog Day schedule in Hometown magazine’s special edition for activities and events around Punxsutawney. n Feb. 2: Museum hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, 401 W. Mahoning St. n Feb. 7: First Tuesday Community Meal, 5 p.m., at Punxsy Presbyterian Church. Use the Findley/Union Sts. entrance. Free & open to the public. n Feb. 10: Free Community Dinner, 5 p.m., at First United Methodist Church.

Open to the public. n Feb. 14: Valentine’s Day! Find the perfect gift for that special someone at one of Hometown’s advertisers. n Feb. 16 & 17: PAHS Drama Club play, A Walk in the Woods, 7 p.m., at PAHS auditorium. $5 reserved, $3 general seating. n Feb. 18: “Freezin!” 9 a.m. to noon, at the Weather Discovery Center. For ages 6 & up, $8 per child. Pre-registration helpful, not required. n Feb. 20: President’s Day. Honor the USA’s forefathers. Legal holiday, businesses may be closed. n Feb. 21: Blood Drive, 12:30 to 6 p.m., at SSCD Church. Sponsored by the American Red Cross. n Feb. 24: “Almost Overnighter,” 6 to 9 p.m., at Weather Discovery Center. $8 per child, walk-ins welcome. Bring sleeping bag & wear your pajamas! n Feb. 25: SSCD Home & School Auction, 6 p.m. Includes basket, silent & live auctions. Benefits the SSCD School. n Feb. 28: Senior Safety program regarding technology & identity theft, 11:15 a.m., at Punxsy Senior Center on Pine Street. Program presented by PA Attorney General’s office. n March 1: Ash Wednesday. Begins the religious season of Lent, leading to Easter. n March 1: Ash Wednesday Soup &

Sandwich dinner, 5:30 p.m. & worship at 6:30 p.m., at Grange Church of God. n The Punxsy Lions Club is seeking donations to replace the lighting on the Dike that illuminates the murals under the East End bridge. Donations can be sent to the Lions Club at PO Box 472, Punxsy. n The Punxsutawney Area Community Center offers indoor cycling, batting cage, Fifty & Fit, SilverSneakers, AM men’s basketball, Pilates/yoga, and gymnastics. Call 938-1008 for more information.

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1/2 cup margarine (1 stick) 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 egg 1/4 cup French vanilla coffee creamer (or milk) 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt Icing and/or sugar for decoration

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The movie groundhog Day, based upon a story and the Punxsutawney celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler’s Knob, led to an increase of visitors to Punxsutawney over the decades that followed its release in 1993.

In March 2017, a musical based upon the movie will begin on Broadway, live on stage, in New York City. (photo by S. Thomas Curry)

Groundhog Day Past, Present, and Future

The history of Groundhog Day in the Punxsutawney area and the development of the Punxsutawney-style celebration in the early twentieth century at Gobbler’s Knob is exhibited and described in a special exhibit in the Lattimer House of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society. (photo by S. Thomas Curry)

B

By S. Thomas Curry of Hometown magazine y its name of Indian origin and its celebration of Groundhog Day each February 2, Punxsutawney has gained worldwide recognition over many years.

The peculiarity of its name has existed for hundreds of years. Native Americans had traveled over paths and rested at this spot, identifying it by their word Ponksutenink, meaning the town of the ponkis, the tiny sandflies found in great numbers in this section of Pennsylvania in the valley of the Mahoning Creek.

And when the name “Punxsutawney” is

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Among the many exhibits in the Groundhog Day exhibit in the Lattimer House are artifacts, photographs, and news stories about the 1960 appearance of Ruth Hamill, Phyllis Milliron, Elaine Light, and Punxsutawney Phil on NBC’s Today Show with Dave Garroway. (photo by S. Thomas Curry)

mentioned, conversations can begin about its origin and history.

A large part of that history is the popularity of Groundhog Day. No other animal has a day marked on calendars. But the fascination about “weather prognostication” in the folklore of Groundhog Day on February 2 has developed into an event unique in American culture.

There is Punxsutawney history in the manner of celebration seen by the world through media today. Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney has not always been recognized or celebrated as seen in the imagery familiar to citizens of the world – on TV, movies, internet, etc.

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8 – Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196

During the years of Punxsutawney’s settlement in the mid-nineteenth century, settlers of European roots, especially those of German ancestry, emigrated from southeastern Pennsylvania and vicinity.

They brought with them in their family traditions the folklore of Groundhog Day, looking for the groundhog’s shadow on February 2, a day midpoint in the winter season.

Farmers wanted to know about the weather. Early weekly newspaper editors informed their readers about the various observations that could predict upcoming weather events.

The Punxsutawney Plaindealer, a

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weekly newspaper from 1868 through 1871, is the oldest paper available at the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society to give a “snapshot” of Groundhog Day observations. On Thursday, February 3, 1870, it shared the following: “GROUND-HOG DAY – Believers in this sign can prepare for an abundance of cold weather, for yesterday was a sunshiny day, which would afford the ground-hog a delightful opportunity to see its shadow if it ventured out.”

A week later, on February 10, the paper’s editor reported: “WINTER AGAIN – In accordance with the ruling - Continued on page 10

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On February 2, 1960, three residents from Punxsutawney, (left to right) Ruth Hamill, Phyllis Milliron, and Elaine Light, appeared on the NBC TV’s Today Show with the “weather prophet, seer of seers” at Gobbler’s Knob. To a national audience, they promoted Punxsutawney’s Groundhog Day and the publication of a new cookbook, cooking with the groundhog, edited by Light and Hamill. (photo courtesy of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society)

Groundhog Day Past

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10 – Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196

Continued from page 8 of Ground-hog, the weather-dispenser of the superstitious, winter has again made its appearance, in the shape of several inches of snow. The owners of horses and sleighs in our town are enjoying it hugely; while our lumbermen are afforded an opportunity to get their timber to the stream.

We also noticed during the past few days an immense amount of grain being hauled through our town, all going eastward. We hope the snow will tarry with us a longer time on this occasion.”

In 1876, the weekly Mahoning Valley Spirit came under new ownership, and the name was changed to The Punxsutawney Spirit. In September 1885, with the ownership change, again, W.O Smith was hired as editor. Punxsutawney’s population grew from 500 in 1870 to 3,000 in 1890.

With Smith as editor, the Spirit reported on February 3, 1886: “Yesterday was ground-hog day, and the venturesome woodchuck that was curious enough about the weather to come out and take a look around would undoubtedly see his shadow, then sneak back into his hole, carefully draw the hole in after him, and stay there for six weeks.”

In October 1885, another weekly newspaper, the Valley News, was established to join the Spirit to chronicle the daily happenings of the emerging city in Jefferson County. Its name was changed to the Punxsutawney News in June 1887. For its issue of February 3, 1886, Editor Horace G. Miller reported: “The ground-hog crawled out yesterday and was so scared at his shadow of his emaciated form that he concluded to retire for six weeks more.”

Two weeks later, the editor of the Spirit expressed the following to its readers: “The Groundhog has deceived us again and is no longer worthy of the respect of a too confiding public. His weather prognostications are no better than those of venor or wiggins, and like them, his great

success in the past was due to the fact that people love to be humbugged.” (A “wiggin” is defined as a search.)

In 1887, the Spirit’s issue was published on Groundhog Day. The report was brief: “Today is groundhog day, and up to the time of going to press, the beast has not seen its shadow.”

On February 1, 1888, the Punxsutawney News reminded its readers that “Tomorrow being Ground-hog Day, will decide the condition of the weather for the next six weeks.”

On February 8, 1888, the Spirit readers had to wait almost a week to learn the following: “The ground hog might have stood all day and looked at his shadow on the day set apart by our ancient brethren for that purpose if he had been so disposed, and yet he has had no shadow to hasten back into his hole and pull the hole in after him. This idea of ‘pulling the hole in after him,’ is not strictly original with us, but it is a very cute thing to say. At least everybody seems to think so. It is one of those heavy old chestnuts that never become obsolete.”

In 1889, neither local newspaper refers to Groundhog Day. In 1890, a few days after Groundhog Day, the Spirit reported: “Last Sunday was Ground Hog’s day, and the little beast failed to see his shadow.

That dispels what little hope we had entertained that the ice man and the lumber man might get out of the woods.”

From 1891 through 1896, no editions of the Spirit mention Groundhog Day. In all those early publications in Punxsutawney, there is no reference to anything “official” about a prognostication (or proclamation) from a “Punxsutawney Groundhog.” No report about a specific time of the shadow, great crowds during the observation of a shadow, no formal ceremony, celebration noises, or special activities held on that day.

At the beginning of February 1901, Editor W. O. Smith continued his duty to inform the general public: “February is a great month. Although containing but 28 days, it has four holidays. February 2 is - Continued on page 12

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814-371-3180 www.christthekingmanor.org Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196 – 11

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CLUE - THE MUSICAL, based on the board game by Parker Brothers, book by Peter DePietro, Lyrics by Tom Chiodo, Music by Galen Blum, Wayne Barker, and Vinnie Martucci

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IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE - A LIVE RADIO PLAY

by Joe Landry This beloved American holiday classic comes to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast. With the help of an ensemble that brings a few dozen characters to the stage, the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds as he contemplates ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve. (Performed in early November) *All shows subject to change.

o Yes, I want to be part of PTAG's 42nd Season by helping to underwrite the costs of highquality, live stage performances in Punxsutawney. I have indicated below the level of my support by checking the appropriate box. In addition to returning this form, I will send my check payable to PTAG by return mail to the address shown at the top of this ad.

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Call 938-6928 or 938-0378 for more information about the shows or the patrons' drive or our advertising rates for our programs.

12 – Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196

Groundhog Day Past

Continued from page 10 Ground Hog Day, February 12 is Lincoln’s birthday, February 19 election day, and February 22 is Washington’s birthday.”

Obviously, the lore of Groundhog Day existed in the lives of the people. In honor of Groundhog Day, on February 6, Smith published one of his poems appropriate to the day: “Br’er groundhog! knowing, as you did, How low the gas had run, Why from your burrow lift the lid and gaze upon the sun?

Now we must freeze for forty days, And you must hide and that Because of your imprudent ways Concerning shadows cast.”

In 1902, Clymer Freas returned to Punxsutawney to become city editor of the Spirit, at a time when W.O. Smith was running for U.S. Congress. As congressman from the 27th District representing the Punxsutawney area, Smith began the tradition of our area congressmen’s reading into the Congressional Record each Groundhog Day the official prognostication from the Punxsutawney groundhog.

Clymer Freas’s printed reports about Groundhog Day were imaginative announcements from “Bre’r Groundhog” on a place that was first named The Weather Works, then Groundhog Knob, and finally Gobbler’s Knob. With his wit and clever writing, he promoted Punxsutawney’s identity with Groundhog Day to faraway places through Pittsburgh and Philadelphia newspapers.

It was Freas who described the Punxsutawney groundhog as “Seer of Seers, King of the Weather Prophets, Lord High Potentate of all Marmota Monax, and Wojack Extraordinary.”

It was Freas who named the early group of men who hunted and feasted on groundhog the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. Early bylaws defined the club’s purpose: “to promote the interest of the Borough of Punxsutawney by making known to the world at large that the Groundhog residing on Gobblers Knob is the only authentic and reliable weather prognosticator.”

At a time in the nineteenth century, when messages and information were “seen” only in the visual images of the mind or on rare photographs, Freas expanded the imagery of Groundhog Day in the print medium.

W.O. Smith died in 1932, and his son Pierre. L. Smith became editor of the Spirit. Prior to Groundhog Day in 1938, in a story headlined “Punxsutawney Groundhog had its Genesis in One Man’s Imagination Many Years Ago,” P.L. Smith reported to Spirit readers what he hoped were answers to their many questions about Punxsutawney’s celebration of Groundhog Day. In the opening statement of the detailed account Smith wrote: “Just about this time of year this office is besieged with requests for details concerning the origin of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club and the whys and the wherefores of the association of the Groundhog, as a weather prognosticator, with this community.”

Controversy exists about who exactly was included in the original Groundhog Club. There were arguments as to when,

how, and where the first dinner of the local Groundhog Club was held. Through the words of his father (oral or printed), “P.L.” had heard the story recited over and over again.

Smith set the record straight. In his words: “Clymer Freas launched Gobblers’ Knob Chuck on his glorious career as chief of world’s weather prognosticators.”

It was back in the summer of 1900 that “a half a dozen local residents hied themselves into the hills back of the old Punxsutawney Brewery for an outing. They dug out a couple of groundhogs and enjoyed roast chuck, along with the customary side dishes and liquid refreshments (a keg of beer from the old Punxs’y Brewery) it is recalled.”

After Freas’s death in October 1942, the Spirit crowned him “Father of the conception that Punxsutawney is the home of the Groundhog.” That particular time in history began a new era in telling the story about the folklore of Groundhog Day and the observance – Punxsutawney style!

Moving from the printed word (and word of mouth), radio emerged to transmit news and entertainment over many miles. From 5:45 to 6:15 p.m., the afternoon of February 2, 1928, the Punxsutawney Rotary Club presented a program over the airwaves of KDKA in Pittsburgh, the U.S. pioneer radio station that began broadcasting in 1920.

The following day, headlines of a feature story in the (now daily) Punxsutawney Spirit shouted: “GROUNDHOG GOES ON THE AIR WITH SNAPPY PROGRAM.” The story reported that “Scores of telegrams have been received here today from distant points to the effect that the program had been heard ....” To the citizens of the world, the official prognostication of the Punxsutawney Groundhog on that February 2 was read by F.S. Jackson, superintendent of the Punxsutawney School District. Such a tradition with KDKA continued through the 1940s.

In 1928, the groundhog was adopted as the school mascot, accompanying PHS football and basketball teams on their trips. “Chucks,” short for woodchucks, was used for their local identity and cheers – Go Chucks!

The late 1940s and early 1950s saw the beginning of television (TV, as we say today) in homes. TV’s visual quality became a stronger influence on the distribution of news and stories. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” as the saying goes, so area residents were ready to take advantage of the new technical marvel.

The Today Show on the NBC TV network debuted (in black and white) on January 14, 1952, and during 2017 the show has been celebrating its sixty-fifth anniversary on the air. One early effort of significance in programming in the early years of the Today Show (at least to Punxsutawney history) was the appearance of three local women, one a young teenager, with a Punxsutawney groundhog and the newly published cookbook Cooking With the Groundhog, edited by Elaine Light and Ruth Hamill.

In his interview of the group, following the prepared script, host Dave Garroway, with his TV weatherman Jack Lescoule, remarked that “There are undoubtedly in this country great numbers of groundhog ... but only one of these is the one and true weather prophet, the seer of seers, the prognosticator of prognosticators. And he - Continued on page 14

Punxsy Country Club Offers 2017 Membership Specials

T

(“From Our Past,” researched by S. Thomas Curry, features items of interest from past editions of Punxsutawney and area newspapers.)

January 28, 1944 — The pig ordinance became effective January 6. Punxsutawney residents who are keeping pigs within the borough limits face prosecution unless they keep the animals at least 300 feet from any dwelling or source of water supply. That was the word following the January meeting of the Board of Health. (Punxsutawney News)

he Punxsutawney Country Club is running its 2017 membership specials – a full membership for $700, a rate guaranteed for two years, and a social membership for $10. All folks are eligible except dues-paying members, and the offer is valid only in 2017. This is the last chance this decade to join at these super low prices. For additional information, please call Dan at (814) 938-9760, visit www.punxsycc.com, or stop by the Country Club, located at 408 North Main Street.

•••

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February 2, 1871 — TO-DAY (Thursday) is ground-hog day. If not too thin he could see his shadow, as the sun shone quite awhile this forenoon. (Punxsutawney Plaindealer) [Note: This announcement in the weekly Plaindealer was among early acknowledgments by German settlers in the Punxsutawney area about the folklore of Groundhog Day in their traditions.]

February 3, 1886 — The ground-hog crawled out yesterday and was so scared at his shadow of his emaciated form that he concluded to retire for six weeks more.

(Valley News)

February 2, 1887 — The forthcoming history of Jefferson county will be an absolutely impartial affair. No favoritism shown. It is said that anybody who is able and willing to pay the price may be written up as a “prominent citizen.” (Punxsutawney Spirit) [Note: The “history of Jefferson county” was the publication researched and authored by Kate M. Scott and published in 1888 as “the first written account of the settlement of Jefferson County.”]

February 3, 1897 — John McMillen, of Oliveburg, hitched up in his big “barge” last Friday evening, drove over to Punxsutawney. There he secured a portion of the female domestic help of the Pantall, Waverly and City hotels and brought them back to his place where they mingled with a number of our young people who accompanied them to the home of William Shoops, where a party was in progress. Refreshments were served and all had an enjoyable time. (Punxsutawney Spirit)

February 4, 1903 — An Italian was brought up from Yatesboro on the “flyer” Tuesday noon who had been badly injured in the mines at that place. He was conveyed from the train to the hospital in the ambulance. (Punxsutawney News) [Note: Yatesboro is in Armstrong County.

The “hospital” was the Adrian Hospital in Punxsutawney on Jenks Hill, where it was relocated in 1898 from the Adrian Mines in Delancey.]

•••

Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196 – 13

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14 – Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196

Resolutions

Continued from page 3 But it was nice resolution while it lasted.

Resolution 9. I resolve to adopt a gaggle of wiener dogs. Well, actually, I would like to adopt a couple more daschunds from a nearby shelter. See, I’m a lover of all animals, and I would even like to throw in a bunny, a cat or two, and a parrot. Then, reality sets in and so does my husband’s speech about vet bills, caretaking, and cleaning up the lawn with a jumbo doggy do-do disposal bag. He is so right. Then again, pets are like potato chips – maybe just one more.

Resolution 10. I plan to do more random acts of kindness. A few days ago, someone did such an act for me and, in all seriousness, I plan to pay it forward in 2017.

Creeping up to the front of the line at a local Chick-fil-A, I reluctantly asked the cashiers if they could break a holiday hundred dollar bill that my mom gave me as a gift. I ordered something, eight chicken nuggets and two cups of coffee – just to be polite. Feeling kind of embarrassed at not having a smaller bill, I thought they would tell me that they couldn’t spare the change. I was wrong. One of the clerks dug into his own pants pocket to see if he could break the bill himself. When he couldn’t, the other clerk broke the bill for me with register change.

Then she said, “Your meal is on me.”

I’m not sure why. Maybe it was because I was their first customer. Maybe it was because I was polite and hesitant to ask for a pretty big favor from a fast-food eatery.

Maybe it was because my mom was with me and she looked so tired that day. I guess I will never know.

“Excuse me,” I stammered a bit. “Did you say that the meal is free?” I repeated the words in disbelief.

“Yep,” the clerk smiled a big smile at me.

“And here’s your change for that hundred.

I’ll brew you some fresh coffee if you wait a bit.”

Needless to say, I was thrilled. Stuff like that doesn’t happen that much anymore, and I was grateful beyond belief. Repeating, “Thank you so much,” I returned to our seats and told my mom what happened. Her eyes grew large and she said, “Wow.” “Wow” really sums up my experience.

I want to make people feel a “wow” like I felt that day. I want to do some random acts of kindness in the New Year, and that’s one resolution I plan to keep.

Happy New Year to you and those wellmeaning resolutions! Here’s to all the floors that might get waxed and all the pounds of body fat that will or won’t get lost. Either way, your (and my) intentions were good!

Here’s a big noisemaker toot to the Christmas decorations that will eventually get put away until next year, and here’s a toss of confetti to those of you who enjoy their holiday sparkle to last just a little bit longer. Let’s raise our glasses in an attempt to exercise – your heart is in the right place (even trying to work out a little will keep it out of the wrong place). I promise not to leave my husband in the dark as long as my ears can take it – yes, the beat will go on. Plus, I’ll always love Leave It to Beaver, Lifetime, and wiener dogs. Finally, here’s a big shout-out to good dental floss – your smile will thank you.

May your wallet be fatter than your waistline! Try to be kind to each other and remember that there is good in the world.

Remember – we have a whole new 365 days to get it together, and we are the designated drivers of our resolutions!

•••

Groundhog Day Past

Continued from page 12 lives in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania ....”

(A map was then spotlighted to show the exact location of Punxsutawney in western Pennsylvania.)

In the 1950s, also, a local radio station, WPME, went on the air. With his robust, powerful, and enthusiastic voice, owner Charles Erhard became a member of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to serve as “director of Groundhogese communication.”

With new communication media at hand, a new effort began to identify Punxsutawney as the “Home of the Groundhog,” amidst many “impostors” in other communities trying to share the national spotlight.

Over many years, the Punxsutawney observance of Groundhog Day has grown into a major event. Credit is given to the many folk in the early twentieth century who captured the moment to connect it all to the town of Punxsutawney.

To many who follow the tradition of Groundhog Day, there is no doubt that the release of the movie Groundhog Day in 1993, with comedian Bill Murray, has contributed to the popularity. The movie has been seen by millions of people worldwide through video and cable, shown over and over and over again. Our quiet little borough in the foothills along the Mahoning Creek has had a boost in tourism.

That Punxsutawney and its celebration on Gobbler’s Knob were selected as the site for the movie story can mean the “impostors’ in weather prognosticating lost the battle for the spotlight about this truly original American tradition.

“Groundhog Day gets more attention than Father’s Day!” exclaimed an advertisement in Entertainment Magazine recently in these early years of the twenty-first century.

Now, in March 2017, Groundhog Day, the Musical will open on Broadway in New York City. Adapted from the movie Groundhog Day,” the musical follows the storyline in the book by Danny Rubin – the book that was the basis for the film version. In the movie, actor Bill Murray is the Pittsburgh television weatherman covering Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney. In the film, if one needs reminded, Murray, as Phil Connors, found himself in a time loop, repeating Groundhog Day over and over again.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club invites Punxsutawney area folk to join a group on a bus trip to see the show. The date of the chartered trip is Friday, April 28, through Sunday, April 30. It will be strange seeing the Punxsutawney-style celebration of Groundhog Day as a musical, live, on stage in New York City. After all, hundreds of thousands of people have seen the real celebration live at Gobblers Knob on winter mornings on February 2 in Punxsutawney.

The telling the world about Punxsutawney’s story about Groundhog Day is ensured through the dedication of those committed to uphold the goals of promoting Punxsutawney and the February 2 tradition – the past and present goal of “making known to the world at large that the Groundhog residing on Gobblers Knob is the only authentic and reliable weather prognosticator.”

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unxsutawney Area Hospital and Penn Highlands Hospital welcomed the first Hometown babies of the New Year into the world during the first ten days of January 2017.

At Penn Highlands Hospital, Troy and Ronda Berkey – with an assist from Dr. Adolfo Rapaport – welcomed Aris Allen Berkey into their family at 8 a.m. Monday, January 2, 2017. The Punxsutawney area’s first baby of the New Year, Aria weighed 8 pounds and measured 20 and 1/2 inches in length. Aris has an older brother, Silas, who, no doubt, will teach Aris more than a few things!

As the area’s first baby of 2017, Aris and

his family will receive gifts from the Hometown Baby Contest. The Berkeys reside on Meadow Road, Punxsutawney.

Ronda works at Lil’s Restaurant, and Troy works for BFG Manufacturing Services. Hometown extends hearty congratulations to the new parents!

At Punxsutawney Area Hospital, Russell Hinderliter III and Logan Magagnotti, of Seminole, Pennsylvania, welcomed Amelia Hinderliter into the world on January 9, 2017. Dr. Emil Dib delivered Amelia, who tipped the scales at 6 pounds 7 ounces and stretched the measuring tape to 18 and 1/2 inches. Congratulations to Russell and Logan!

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Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196 – 15

Sam Light

Continued from page 5 nity was high. When the program for the event was settled, Friday, August 27, was designated as “Groundhog Day.” On that day, Governor Edwin Sydney Stuart would attend the festivities. There was a parade that covered over a mile and passed through Mahoning Streets to West End, and then counter-marched back to East End. All the entries in the parade had a weather theme. One float, by the Canoe Ridge Weather Works, was an ingenious satire on the government weather observatory and the allegorical official home of Br’er Groundhog, became the iconic image transmitted throughout the country, establishing Punxsutawney as the “Weather Capital of the World.”

It is easy to believe his father’s ability to cooperate with many people, to achieve success and the community’s cooperation in the pageantry of the Punxsutawney Old Home Week event had a profound impact on the young Sam Light. The older Sam Light was confident and had a vision of the future that guided him when he assumed the presidency of Groundhog Club upon the death of Dr. Frank Lorenzo in 1952.

Sam Light was by then an established coal operator, having worked with his father and brother as secretary and treasurer of the Lindsey Coal Company; Frances Supply Company; the Mining Company of Graceton, Inc.; Industrial Engineers & Appraisers, Inc.; Wabash Ridge Co.; A.L. Light Special Co.; and the Progressive Real Estate Company, which he and his brother Oscar continued to operate after his father‘s death in 1947. Sam had also served the coal industry as the director of the Central Pennsylvania Coal Producers Association.

Upon assuming the position of Groundhog Club president, he set about using his talents to take the Groundhog Club where it had never been before. It was a time of

rapid changes in the country. Although Dr. on to say: “He believed it as he believed Lorenzo realized that a new image for thoroughly in everything he did.”

To dispel the concerns among the media Punxsutawney’s groundhog was needed and had been using the media of his day, about the existence of Punxsutawney’s including pictures in newspapers and weather prophet, Sam boldly invited reradio interviews to promote the Ground- porters trek to the knob to witness the hog Club, Sam would have new chal- February 2, 1953, proclamation. On that day, the Punxsutawney Groundhog saw lenges and opportunities.

Television was becoming available in his shadow and proclaimed six more most of the country and was able to pro- weeks of winter weather before newsreel vide an immediate view of news and other activities.

No longer was the story of Punxsutawney’s groundhog enough, nor was it acceptable to portray the groundhog as victuals at the same time as regarding him as the exalted and honored weather prophet.

Sam and the members of the The first float in the 1909 Homecoming Groundhog Day Parade was the Groundhog Club Canoe Ridge Weather Works float. The Canoe Ridge Weather Works was an ingenious satire on the government weather observatory and the allein 1953 began cre- gorical official home of Br’er Groundhog. The Canoe Ridge Weather ating the Punx- Works was conceived by C.H. Freas, the secretary and poet laureate of s u t a w n e y the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, and constructed by Alonzo Shilling.

Groundhog Day The weather murals were painted by Frank Boney and Denny Carter. The float was driven by Alva Cole and accompanied by Shilling who was disexperience as it is guised as a life-sized woodchuck. (photo courtesy of the Punxsutawney today. Area Historical & Genealogical Society) known Sam’s vision of Groundhog Day was one of fun, amusement, and significance. He proclaimed the cameramen for the first time. The next Punxsutawney Groundhog to be a very year the opportunity to participate in the important personage (VIP), which the trek was extended to the public, and since Club would honor by greeting him in for- then, hundreds of thousands of believers mal attire consisting of a silk top hat, a have gathered in the wee morning hours of Groundhog Day to await the proclamacut-away coat, and his acacia cane.

He was a true believer in Groundhog tion. Millions of people throughout the Day. Elaine Light, his wife, in her 1983 world have joined the celebration at the article “As We Remember Him” described knob by tuning in early Groundhog Day Sam’s reaction one Groundhog Day after to see it live on television.

Other innovations in the way Groundhog reading a disparaging story in a Pittsburgh paper as saying in wounded tones, “They Day is celebrated were begun during the act like they don’t believe it.” She went time Sam Light served as the Groundhog

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16 – Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196

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Club’s president. The crowning of the Groundhog Queen and King; the naming of a Man and Woman of the Year; the establishment of Groundhog Ambassadors were a few of the innovations that propelled Punxsutawney and Groundhog Day into national and worldwide fame.

As the years rolled by, the Punxsutawney groundhog maintained his new, modern image. He kept up with the times, rocketing to the moon in 1959, being guest on NBC’s Today Show in 1960, and traveling to outer space in 1962. Sam Light became “Mr. Groundhog” during his quarter-century at the helm, spreading the word of Punxsutawney Phil around the world.

Sam Light ceded his position as president of the Groundhog Club in 1976 to Charlie Erhard, who, as owner of Punxsutawney’s local radio station WPME, had become the official “voice of the groundhog.” In commenting on his retirement, Sam Light, ever the believer, said, “Groundhog punch is for longevity, not eternity.”

Sam Light has become an integral part of Punxsutawney’s groundhog legend, and, as such, is a part of eternity in this small town in Western Pennsylvania.

Resources used in the preparation of this article are available at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, and the Library of Congress. This article has been prepared by the Coal Memorial Committee of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc., which seeks to document and preserve the history and impact of coal in the Punxsutawney area. Forms for purchasing a Coal Memorial tile to honor any person who worked in any aspect of the coal industry may be found online at www.punxsyhistory.org or may be picked up at the Lattimer House, 400 West Mahoning Street, Punxsutawney. Comments on this article may be directed to PAHGS, P.O. Box 286, Punxsutawney, PA 15767.

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Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196 – 17

Punxsutawney Historical Society to Hold Second “Night at the Museum”

This E.T. White panorama, taken in front of the Winslow mansion, Pine Street, shows the men of the first draft quota from the Punxsutawney area for World War I, the Great War, in 1917. (photo courtesy of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society.

T

By Marty Armstrong for Hometown magazine

he Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society has planned a second Night at the Museum for Wednesday evening, February 1, at 6 p.m. Last year’s event was enjoyed by all. This year’s visitors will meet new “spirits” from Punxsutawney’s past.

Museums interpret history in many ways – with exhibits, publications, programs, and many kinds of events. Several years ago the Society began to schedule “Spirit Walks” in town to present local history in an entertaining way. There were tours of West Mahoning Street, Pine Street, and the streets surrounding Barclay Square twice.

Shifting to February allowed information to be presented to visitors of Punxsutawney as well as residents of the area.

The cold weather made an indoor tour welcome and a new group of “spirit” presentations made it possible to build several layers of interpretation. There are historic artifacts on display in both the Bennis House and Lattimer House that tell the story of the region; there are special exhibits currently focusing on legacy and living artists which provide additional historic details. And the selection of “spirit” reenactors creates more history in an enjoyable, interactive format. They walk and talk and answer questions.

Choosing the “spirits” is the first step; each serves a function as an interpreter of specific past events and people. This year in the Lattimer House, for example, the “spirits” include well-known photographer, Edwin T. (E.T.) White in the Gallery 1 photography exhibit. White (1875-1935) and others documented much of Punx-

sutawney’s history with photographs.

Mary Hamilton Curry (1910-1989) will appear in the Gallery 2 functional art exhibit. A homemaker, active in her church and interested in quilting, Curry bridges the time from the use of treadle sewing machines to electric sewing machines and can well present the other items of functional art displayed. The Rev. Arthur P. Peden (1895-1994) – an Evangelical United Brethren and United Methodist minister who wrote extensively, painted prolifically, and carved inspiringly – speaks to the role of the many faiths represented locally and the other artists whose sculpture is displayed in the Gallery 3 three-dimensional exhibit. William O. Carlton (1911-1986), former managing editor of the Punxsutawney Spirit, painted.

- Continued on page 22

Punxsutawney and World War I

Although the Great War had been raging in Europe since the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary on June 28, 1914, the United States had attempted to maintain a position of neutrality. German officials argued, though, that U.S. support of Allied operations with funds and war material was most definitely not neutral.

The U.S. position became untenable when, on January 31, 1917, the German ambassador notified the U.S. in writing of his government’s plans to begin targeting U.S. ships the very next day. On February 3, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson announced to Congress that diplomatic relations with Germany had been severed. A declaration of war was not yet requested though Wilson did request authority to arm U.S. merchant ships, an action blocked by a Senate filibuster. Arming proceeded nonetheless as the result of an executive order. Eventually, war was declared in April 1917. Men were called to serve, and the E T White panorama shows the first draft of men from Punxsutawney.

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18 – Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196

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North Dakota Native Embraces Birthday Connection to Phil

A

dd Lisa Schaefer – currently of Xenia, have experienced the revelry of Groundhog Ohio, and formerly of Grand Forks Air Day – Punxsutawney style! “In 2008, I had Force Base, North the opportunity to go to be Dakota – to the list of notaat Gobbler’s Knob for the bles who celebrate their festivities,” she recalls. “It birthdays on the Day of was so much fun to walk Days – Groundhog Day, the around town afterwards to favorite day of the year for see all the groundhog items, Punxsutawney Phil, the to see where Phil lives durSeer of Seers and Prognosing the rest of the year, and ticator Extraordinaire! to meet other people with a Lisa embraces her connecFebruary 2nd birthday.” tion with Phil. “I like hav“Also, I was able to paring my birthday connected ticipate in the Groundhog to Phil’s special day,” she Jog!” she enthuses, adding writes. “My parents espe- Lisa Schaefer’s T-shirt says all that that “I like to complete discially thought it was neat needs to be said – she was born on tance events (5k, 10k, half Punxsutawney Phil’s favorite day, that I was born on Ground- Groundhog Day. (submitted photo) marathon). I have comhog Day. When I was growpleted one full marathon ing up, they would take me outside to see if I and am trying to complete a 5k in each state.” saw my shadow!”

“I would like to say ‘hello’ to my Punx“It didn’t matter that we were in North sutawney family, John, Tressa, Little John, Dakota and there was snow on the ground,” and Brandon Matthews,” Lisa concludes. she continues. “I still went out for my birthHappy Birthday, Lisa, from Punxsutawney day picture.”

Hometown magazine!

Lisa is also one of the many thousands who •••

SSCD School Marks Catholic Schools Week with Open House

S

aints Cosmas and Damian School joins schools across the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie in celebrating Catholic Schools Week. Festivities begin Sunday, January 29, with the annual Open House from noon to 2 p.m. Monsignor Joseph Riccardo and Principal Jessica Dinger invite families of all faiths to attend the Open House to catch up on all of the wonderful things that have been going on at SSCD. Teachers will be present to answer questions and show highlights of recent student projects. Enrollment and scholarship information will also be available.

The SSCD Home & School Association is sponsoring a spaghetti dinner to coincide with the Open House. Dinners, which also include gluten-free options, are being served from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. All proceeds from the dinner benefit SSCD School. Along with the Open House, the spaghetti dinner is open to the entire community and everyone is welcome.

Throughout Catholic Schools Week, SSCD

School students will participate in a mix of fun activities like themed dress-down days along with academic challenges, including the annual science fair. Older students hone their leadership skills by reading Bible stories to the younger classes and teaching them songs and games. Family involvement is a key component of the celebration. Students enjoy spending an afternoon with grandparents for the popular Bingo for Books activity sponsored by the Title 1 program. The week culminates with a family Mass followed by brunch.

Throughout the week students will enjoy spiritually enriching activities like taking part in the Great Kindness Challenge. Principal Dinger and her instructors have organized service projects that will benefit older parishioners and even local animal shelters. The theme of Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.” Saints Cosmas & Damian School has been living that credo since 1892 and it is proud to carry on the tradition.

•••

Chef Albert Wutsch to Appear at Allegheny Outdoor Show

T

he 32nd Allegheny Outdoor Show has hired Pennsylvania legend Chef Albert Wutsch – retired chairperson of Indiana University of Pennsylvania Academy of Culinary Arts, Punxsutawney – to conduct Wild Game Cooking and Butchering Seminars at the Show on February 17, 18, and 19. In addition, Chef Wutsch will be the master of ceremonies for a special fundraiser for Hunters Sharing the Harvest, which will be held at 2 p.m. February 18. The Show will match the cash donated as a result of the benefit.

Chef Albert Wutsch is author of The Art of Cooking Venison and The Art of Barbecuing and Grilling Game, and is the producer of The Art of Backyard Butchering. He has been a featured guest speaker for many national

conventions, such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, and the NRA Great Outdoors Show (largest outdoor show in North America).

The Allegheny Outdoor Show will be held February 17-19 at the Monroeville/Pittsburgh Convention Center, located at 209 Mall Boulevard, Monroeville. For directions, show hours, and ticket prices, please visit the show’s website (www.pittsburghoutdoorshow.com).

For information about Hunters Sharing the Harvest and the organization’s mission, please contact John Plowman (717- 545-1188 or jwp@sharedeer.org) or Deborah Milliron (717- 991-0464 or dam@sharedeer.org).

•••

Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196 – 19

The Annual Groundhog Club Banquet

T

he Annual Groundhog Club BanRatzenberger has acted in thirty-eight quet will be held Wednesday, Feb- major motion pictures and has written, diruary 1, at the Punxsutawney Area rected, or produced hundreds of television High School. The doors will open projects over the span of his career. Reat 6 p.m., and dinner will start at 6:30 gardless of his great success in Hollyp.m. Jeff Lundy, vice president of the wood, John’s greatest passion has been to Inner Circle, will serve at the master of shine a light on the importance of manuceremonies. The Man and Woman of the facturing and trades in America. He is an Year for Punxadvocate for Amersutawney, as well as ican manufacturthe new Ambassaing, trades, and the dors of the Groundcompanies that are hog Club, will be the foundation our announced. If you great country. He have someone you is a strong advowould like to nomicate of technical nate to be an Ambastrades training for of the sador American CompaGroundhog Club, nies. please contact the It is because of Club at (814) 618these beliefs that 5591 or by stopping the John A. Weber by the Groundhog Trustees have inClub Headquarters, vited Ratzenberger 200 West Mahoning to speak to the stuStreet. dents of the PunxThis year’s speaker sutawney Area for the Annual High school on Groundhog Banquet John Ratzenberger, this year’s Annual Ground- how important it will be John Ratzen- hog Banquet speaker. (submitted photo) can be to pursue a berger, a well know career in manufacactor, best known for his role as Cliff turing and the trades. He has graciously Clavin in the long-running Cheers sitcom. agreed to also speak at this year’s Ratzenberger has enjoyed great success Groundhog Banquet. in Hollywood. His career includes work Tickets for the banquet can be purchased in feature films, from major studio block- for $30 each by contacting the Groundhog busters like Superman, Star Wars: Club at (814) 618-5591 or by stopping by Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, and Club headquarters, 200 West Mahoning Ghandi to independent films like his hit Street, Suite 1, starting Wednesday, JanuThe Woodcarver. Animation has been a ary 4. The office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 natural home for his vocal talents. He is p.m. For more information about Groundthe only actor to appear in every Pixar hog Day, visit www.groundhog.org. film.

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20 – Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196

Frank and Jane

Continued from page 6 moved “every stone” to ensure that Jim received a chance at making the big leagues.

German also pointed out that Pop was responsible for making scouts aware of other local ballplayers.

Frank, of course, played baseball. The bent and crooked fingers of his right hand – his non-gloved hand – testify to the time he spent behind home plate.

Jane’s parents, too, carved a niche in the Punxsutawney community. For many years, her mom, Mary Means, served as borough secretary, and her dad, Walter G. Means, as the town’s street commissioner. “I used to push a broom for him,” Frank said of the days when borough streets were swept by hand, not machines.

Local historian and retired art teacher S. Thomas Curry grew up “in that area of Elk Run in Punxsutawney around Graffius Avenue.” He shared his memories of Frank’s father: “Even as kids, we called him ‘Pop’ Harl. He was active in sports – a baseball player himself and president of Punxsutawney Little League when it was started about 1950. [He was also] a school director, I remember.”

“In the 1960s, Frank ‘Pop’ Harl, Sr., and Walter G. Means (Jane Harl’s father) developed the land, part of it in Punxsutawney and part in Bell Township,” continued Tom. “The portion of land that was in Bell Township was annexed into Punxsutawney in 1956. They named the streets in that development after family members.”

“If you saw the street names Clawson Street and Mac Street, they were named after ‘Pop’ Harl’s family – his grandmother (on the Graffius side) and father (Mac).

Orveta Avenue was Jane Harl’s aunt and Walter Means’s sister-in-law,” Tom added.

“Sandra Drive, Barbara Street, and Linda Street were named for Frank and Jane’s children when the land was developed. That area is the location of the Mahoning Manor Trailer Park.”

Frank and Jane were asked whether they have a secret to their long marriage.

“I married the best woman in town – that helps!” Frank said quickly.

“I think Mom has the patience of Job,” added Sandy, “and besides she cooked everything that Dad brought home!”

Jane quietly shared her secret. “It all goes back to loving the Lord and everyone loving one another,” she said. “It’s our loving relationship with the Lord that sees us through everything that comes along.”

“We’ve had a lot of good things and some bad things,” she added, “and the Lord sees us through them all.”

Jane added a special reason for thanks.

“We’re thankful that all our children have stuck with their faith,” she said.

With seven children, Frank and Jane were challenged each Sunday by getting their brood to and from church. “We left someone at the church one time,” recalled Frank.

“The pastor called us and said, ‘You left one of your kids at church.’”

Frank echoed Jane’s secret to a long marriage and a fulfilling life. “Learn to love the Lord. That’s our secret,” he said.

“That’s the most important thing. Our best memories come from church and the time we spent in church,” added Jane. “Appreciate each day because you never know what’s going to happen from one day to the next.”

Regardless of what each day brings, Jane finds comfort in her favorite verse in the Bible – Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”

Frank, too, finds comfort in the words of the Bible, though he doesn’t have one favorite verse. “I like them all,” he said. “I’ve read a chapter a day all my life, and I still read a chapter a day.”

Frank and Jane anchor their marriage and their day-to-day living in their faith in God. They live out that faith in love and service to each other, to their family, and to their community.

“They are the anchors of this family,” said son-in-law Gary Winger, “They lead by example, and I am so happy that they’re my in-laws.”

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Guild’s Forty-Second Season Offers Comedy, Nostalgia, and Fun

V

ariety is not only the spice of life, but it’s also the source of terrific entertainment as the members of the Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild (PTAG) demonstrate with the announcement of the lineup of the three plays selected for the Guild’s forty-second season.

Since 1975, the Guild has spotlighted local talent in live stage productions. The tradition continues in 2017 with the launching of the annual patrons’ drive to encourage area residents to become part of the activities.

The three shows chosen to entertain local audiences represent a variety of dramatic styles including a laugh-filled look at a family brought together when the father passes away; a pleasing blend of nostalgia and music; and a classic Christmas favorite retold as a live radio play from the 1940s. All performances will be held at the Punxsutawney Area Middle School.

First up will be Southern Fried Funeral, a rollicking comedy by Osborne and Eppler.

Dewey Frye is dead, and the rest of his family is left to pick up the pieces – that is if family members don’t kill each other first.

Not only does the matriarch Dorothy have to contend with sudden widowhood, but she’s also faced with church committee harpy Ozella Meeks sticking her nose into the family business. Dorothy’s snake-in-thegrass brother-in-law makes a grab for her house, and her two grown daughters are reliving their childhood rivalry.

Funerals bring out the worst, the best, and the funniest in people, and the Fryes are no exception. This is a big-hearted comedy about family – Southern style. Director Terry A. Fye has announced that local performances are set for March 3 and 4 and March 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. There will also be a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, March 12.

The summer show, Clue: The Musical, is based on the wildly popular board game by Parker Brothers. This unique musical brings life to the well-known game and invites the audience to help solve the mystery: who killed Mr. Boddy, in what room, and with

what weapon? There are a potential 216 endings! Only one hard-nosed female detective is qualified to unravel the merry mayhem.

The production features a book by Peter DePietro with lyrics by Tom Chiodo. Music is by Galen Blum, Wayne Barker, and Vinnie Martucci.

Performances in Punxsutawney will take place in June with two weeks of additional shows at the Sawmill Theater in Cook Forest. Patrons are reminded that PTAG season tickets cannot be used at the Sawmill. Jef Dinsmore and Kathy Dinsmore are directing.

The season will conclude in the fall with a re-interpretation of It’s a Wonderful Life. Joe Landry has adapted the beloved holiday film into a live radio play. This perennial classic comes to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast. With the help of an ensemble that brings a few dozen characters to the stage, the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds as he contemplates ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve. Performances are set for November.

With preparations underway for the first show, the Theatre Arts Guild is now conducting its patrons’ campaign. Those who wish to be part of the fun of the Guild’s forty-second season by helping to underwrite the costs of high-quality, live stage performances in Punxsutawney can enroll as a patron, a sponsor, or a benefactor, according to the amount of their gifts and the number of tickets they wish to receive. The deadline for joining is February 24. Business owners can elect to buy advertising in the Guild’s programs at reasonable rates for great exposure year round. (Please see the ad with the enrollment form in this issue of Hometown magazine.)

Anyone who wishes more information about the upcoming shows or additional details about the patrons’ drive or the advertising opportunities should call the Dinsmores at 938-0378 or the Fyes at 9386928.

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GROUNDHOG DAY BIRTHDAYS!

if you or someone you know was born on February 2 – groundhog Day (also known as a certain weather prognosticator’s favorite day of the year) – please send the following information, along with your (or his or her) picture, to Punxsutawney hometown Magazine, PO Box 197, Punxsutawney, PA 15767:

1. First and last name.

2. year of birth.

3. Hometown.

4. Contact information (to confirm information).

5. Interesting biographical information (for example, job, hobbies, facts that make you unique).

6. An answer to the following question: How do you feel about your special connection to Punxsutawney Phil’s special day?

If you prefer to use e-mail, please send the information and the picture to Hometown magazine at hometown@punxsutawneymagazine.com.

For more information, please call the magazine at (814) 938-0312.

Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196 – 21

Historical Society

W

Bus Trip to NYC!

ith the excitement of Groundhog Day just around the corner, the Groundhog Club is working on a lot of great things, including a bus trip to New York City to see the musical Groundhog Day. The dates of the bus trip are Friday, April 28, through Sunday, April 30. The charter bus will leave Punxsutawney in the morning of Friday, April 28. Upon arrival, attendees will check into the hotel, and then will have free time until the show on Saturday, April 29, at 8 p.m. We will return to Punxsutawney mid-afternoon on Sunday, April 30. The hotel accommodations will be at Hilton Garden Inn Central Park South for two nights.

The prices for the trip include bus transportation, two-night hotel accommodations, and a ticket to the show. All meals and free time activities are not included.

A $100 non-refundable deposit is required for each attendee to hold their spot. This deposit will go toward each attendee’s overall bill but will not be refunded if the attendee cancels. Deposit is due at the time of signing up for the trip, and the overall amount is due no later than February 10.

Space for this great event is limited, so you don’t want to miss out!

Prices range from $580 per person for a couple to $452.50 per person for a group of four.

Chief Healthman, Dr. Jon Johnston, and his wife, Peggy, attended the Groundhog Day musical in London this past summer.

“The English are well known for their humor and hospitality, and the cast and

crew of the production lived up to the reputation. Once they found out Peggy and I were from Punxsutawney and were making the trip just to see the show, we were treated to a backstage ‘meet and greet’ with the cast and crew and members of the production company,” Dr. Johnston shared. “They were utterly thrilled with our assessment of their fabulous performance, their interpretation and portrayal of life in our small town, their accents, and their humorous representation of the kindness, congeniality and simplicity endemic to Punxsutawney. It was truly a wonderful performance and heartwarming experience that made us proud to be from Punxsutawney.”

Groundhog Day, the musical, was written by Danny Rubin, the author who wrote Groundhog Day, the film. The musical echoes the same message of redemption communicated in the film.

Andy Karl, the lead actor in the musical and also the lone American in the musical, does a fantastic job of playing Phil Connors, who transforms from a narcissistic and cynical weatherman to a beloved visitor to the town of Punxsutawney. Andy Karl’s endless pursuit of Rita Hanson, played by Carlyss Peer in her musical theater debut, is quite hilarious and at times rated PG-13. Phil’s Connor’s transformation, which by some estimates takes from ten to 10,000 years as he is caught in the Groundhog Day time loop, is an entertaining trip through ego-centrism to mental breakdown to a realization that a good life centers on others over self.

•••

22 – Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196

Continued from page 18 Two of his works are shown with many others in the Gallery 4 two-dimensional art exhibit. Many of the works displayed there represent actual historic places and people of the region and others are by well-known local professional and amateur artists.

The Bennis House “spirits” speak to the places from which people came, the business and industry boom experienced by the region, and the part each character played in local history. In the early contact period, the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) occupied the region, and they are represented. Isabelle Yuhaus Hodgson, daughter of Stephen Yuhaus (1868-1938) who emigrated from Austria, will have things to say about the life and times of her father, his work at the Punxsutawney Furnace, and his skill in making the furniture the Society proudly displays. Carl Hetager (1890-1951), born in Norway, will speak about his coming to America and his role in the drilling industry locally. Abijah Benson (A.B.) White (1866-1933), Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg railroad executive, will highlight the importance (and the dangers) of the rail industry and its connection to the town’s coal boom, as well as the patriotism of those like his brother, Garfield (1880-1903) who volunteered during the 1898 SpanishAmerican War, serving in both Puerto Rico and the Philippines. All these “spirits” will be located in rooms of the Bennis House, where their connections are most evident.

An equally important step is the choosing of persons to reenact these roles. From the beginning, the Society has had willing volunteers representing characters with whom they have special connections. In prior years, if there was a doctor’s role, a doctor might be asked to reenact it. If someone was an early officer in the Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce, a current officer took the role. Modern librarians played former librarians; writer/journalists portrayed former journalists or photographers.

Radio announcer Josh Widdowson was thrilled to portray former radioman, Charlie Erhard, and Attorney N.F. Lorenzo brought Attorney C.J. Margiotti to life.

Seamstresses portrayed former seamstresses and milliners, and a former student of Monabel Hamilton helped all to remember her. For two successive years, a young man dressed up as a policeman, chased his own children, portraying rowdy youngsters, around the streets as early police chief, Clayton Palmer. Last year, when the Society began to explore the area’s legacy art exhibits for the first time, a sculptor-teacher portrayed a sculptorteacher, and the descendant of an early Sprankle Mills settler put on a gingham dress and bonnet and portrayed her ances-

tor in the room where a painting of the family’s farm was displayed. Also last year, during the first visit to the Bennis House mining exhibit, members of our coal memorial committee, men who have worked as miners, took part.

So what about Night at the Museum 2.0?

We need an artist/photographer, a homemaker, a minister, and a painter/businessman in the Lattimer House. And in the Bennis House, we need one or two natives, the daughter of a skilled craftsman, a mechanically inclined fellow, and a railroad man. Our lineup of reenactors includes S. Thomas Curry, Lynn Duncan, the Rev. Glenn McQuown, Paul Shaffer, Seth Evans and Paul Talbott, Tom Glover, Marty Armstrong, and Eric Storey. If you know any of these folks, perhaps you can visualize them in one of the roles described.

Let me tell you why I am portraying Isabelle Hodgson. My father, William Stoops, did not emigrate from Austria, but he was certainly a skilled craftsman. In the letter Isabelle wrote to former historical society director Frank Basile, she referred to his work at the Punxsutawney Furnace, a business that was an offshoot of our coal boom. Daddy was, in the 1940s, a surface coal mine shovel operator and later a machinist at Hoffman Brothers and Speer Carbon. Mr. Yuhaus, said Isabelle, never stopped working, kept everything at home in good repair, and was a perfectionist with every task; Daddy was all those things. Mr. Yuhaus made furniture with hand tools and a treadle lathe that were works of art. My father used his skill with a lathe to make beautiful things of copper and stainless steel from scraps for my mother and me.

Nothing he ever did or built around the house was anything other than square, plumb, and level. Isabelle was thrilled to be able to place her father’s things with the Society and the Society was thrilled to have them. As a Society member who appreciates the work of others (as well as its history) and a daughter who appreciates the work of her father, I can represent Isabelle Yuhaus Hodgson well.

The Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society hopes to see a great many people at this year’s Night at the Museum. The jumping off point is the Lattimer House at 400 West Mahoning Street.

Greeters will organize visitors into small groups to begin the experience at each house and send new groups forward at short intervals. Refreshments will be available in the Reschini Room, and a special visitor may appear at the Punxsutawney Area Groundhog Day History exhibit.

Marty Armstrong is a member of the Collections Committee of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. •••

Winner of Steelers Football Contest Named

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens 31-27 in a nationally televised rivalry game played Sunday, December 25 – Christmas night! Dave Blose of Juneau Road, Punxsutawney, predicted that the combined number of points scored by the two teams would be 46. His winning prediction was the closest, of those submitted to Hometown magazine, to the actual total of 58 points. Dave plans to redeem his gift certificate at Neko’s Restaurant. Congratulations to Dave and to all this season’s winners!

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4. Clip and forward the coupon to:‘Super Football Contest,’ c/o Hometown magazine, 129 Aspen Rd,. Punxsutawney, PA 15767. PLEASE MARK YOUR

TEAM PICK AND TOTAL POINTS ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE ENVELOPE. 5. All entries must be received by 4 p.m. Thursday, February 2, 2017.

6. No purchase necessary to participate. All entries must be original magazine coupon (no photocopies).

7. In the event two or more contestants correctly pick the winning team and total number of points, one winner will be randomly selected and awarded the winning prize.

In event two or more contestants tie for closest to the total score, one winner will be randomly selected to win the $20 certificate. Each issue we will give one $20 certificate.

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24 – Punxsutawney Hometown – February 2017 - Issue #196