Malverne Mel's Charming History

Photos by Nakeem Grant/Herald Top photo: Village officials gathered at Village Hall in Malverne for Groundhog Day with Malverne Mel in February 2021.

Bottom photo: Malverne Mel shared his prognostication with Mayor Keith Corbett.

The charming history of Malverne Mel

In most places, January marks the beginning of several long winter months. In Malverne, however, it’s the prep period for a signature village event: Groundhog Day with Malverne Mel.

The occasion is a tradition started in 1996 by former Malverne Mayor Joseph Canzoneri and Barry Manning, editor of the Malverne Times, which became the Malverne/West Hempstead Herald.

Canzoneri acted as the event’s master of ceremonies until Tony Panzarella became the mayor in 1999. With each subsequent mayor, the event grew. A petting zoo and even a wife for Malverne Mel — Malverne Melissa — was added into the mix in 2003. Melissa relieved Mel of his prognostication duties for some unknown reason in 2007.

Almost every year thereafter was marked by another bit of folklore that became ingrained into Malverne’s history. Not too long after their marital union, Melissa and Mel had a baby – another Malverne Mel – who took the reins as the village’s chief prognosticator in 2008.

In 2011, the village canceled its Groundhog Day ceremony for the first time due to an ice storm. Not wanting to miss the important event, Mel became the first groundhog to phone in his prognostication. He told former Mayor Patti McDonald at village hall that he predicted an early spring.

In February 2020, with cloudy skies and the temperature in the mid-30s, Malverne’s annual Groundhog Day with Malverne Mel continued its new tradition. Previously, the village gathered at Chester A. Reese Veterans Memorial Park by the gazebo on Church Street to hear Malverne Mel’s prognostication on whether we’ll have an early spring or six more weeks of winter. In recent years, residents come together in the greenhouse at Crossroads Farm.

This year, the village held a modified version of the event at Village Hall, which was broadcast to residents on Malverne TV.