GOBBLER’S KNOB – Every Feb. 2 for 127 years, Punxsutawney Phil has provided a glimpse of the upcoming weather season.
Today, Phil was raised from his burrow in the old oak stump and the prognostication was read, “Early Spring for you and me!”
According to the Groundhog Day Web site:
The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania’s earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, “For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May…”
Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s. The first official trek to Gobbler’s Knob was made on Feb. 2, 1887.
So the story goes, Punxsutawney Phil was named after King Phillip. Prior to being called Phil, he was called Br’er Groundhog.
