SENIOR LIVING February 2016
TOWN CRIER
Leaping Through February BY JOE BULLICK
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ello February! There is so much going on this month. Before we get to February, I want to mention that the highlight in January was the Steelers defeating the Bengals 18 to 16 in the AFC Wild Card match-up. What a game! I think the game sometimes can become too violent. The Bengals fans cheered and threw beer bottles at Ben Roethlisberger when he was carted off the field. I’ve always been amazed that an hour playing time takes four hours to play. I guess it’s about the money. It’s always nice when the Steelers make it to the Super Bowl. This year’s Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, Feb. 7. The word February is derived from the Latin word “Februo” which means to purify through sacrifice. February was a time of atonement for the ancient
Romans. There are many things that happen in February. There’s St. Brigid’s Day on Feb. 1. Her feast day is second only to St. Patrick in Ireland. Candlemas is a Christian holiday celebrated annually on February 2. Also celebrated on Feb. 2 is good old Groundhog Day, which means we are halfway to spring. The first official Groundhog Day celebration took place on Feb. 2, 1886 in Punxsutawney, Pa. It was the brain child of local newspaper editor Clymer Freas who sold the idea to businessmen and the groundhog hunting club. The men trekked to a site called Gobbler’s Knob where the inaugural ground hog visit took place. The ground hog saw his shadow which meant bad news – six more weeks of winter. Every Feb. 2, 20,000+ people attend Groundhog Day events in Punxsutawney.
Normally, the borough is home to some 6,000 people. It was immortalized in the 1993 Bill Murray film Groundhog Day, which was actually shot in Woodstock, Ill. For the past 42 years, residents of Vermilion, Ohio have a different creature for their annual weather forecast - the wooly bear caterpillar. If this caterpillar has more orange coloring on it than black then the upcoming winter will be mild. So if you see one, don’t kill it because it’s telling you the future weather forecast. Since 1973, this Ohio community has annually held a Woolybear Festival. Another special day commemorated in February is Valentine’s Day. Every Feb. 14 people exchange cards, candies, and flowers. Valentine’s Day in named for a Christian martyr and it dates back to the fifth century. Its origins also go back to Lupercalia which was a very ancient, pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15. There was even a pope named Valentine, very little is known about him except that he served a mere 40 days around 827 A.D. Remember that this is a Leap Year, which only occurs every four years. It was added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. When football is over in February, we are ready to think about baseball. Pitchers and catchers report first. The Philadelphia Phillies were the first of the current major league teams to train in Florida in 1889. There will be a few baseball greats elected into this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame. They include Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey, Jr. Griffey is a native of Donora, who set a record by being named on 99.3% of the ballots. Piazza was the top offensive catcher in baseball history. They will be inducted into Cooperstown on July 24. Some important people were born in February. Babe Ruth was born Feb. 6, 1895. Also born on Feb. 6 was Ronald Reagan, his birth year was 1911. Jimmy Durante was born on Feb. 10, 1893. Well happy birthday to you – Aquarius and Pisces! God Bless, I leave you with this – If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for. – Author unknown
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Northern Connection | February 2016 www.northernconnectionmag.com