It is my tradition to do a Groundhog Day entry. I hale from DuBois a town about 15 miles up the road from Punsutawney, PA, where the famous Punsutawney Phil lives. My parents were both born in Punxsutawney, and I spent the first 2 years of my life in the rural area outside the small town.
Fun Punxsutawney Facts
Natives call Punxsutawney “Punxsy.” And yes, the high school mascot there is a wood chuck (another word for groundhog, in case you didn’t know). My high school mascot was the beaver, and the big rival game–the last one of each season played Veterans Day weekend, was between the wood chucks and the beavers. Not as ferocious as lions and bears, but at least it was a fair match-up. Another little tidbit is that the Groundhog Day Festival that was made famous in the movie Groundhog Day didn’t always exist. When I was a kid, they didn’t have quite as much fanfare on the actual Grounhog Day. They waited until summer to have a carnival called the Groundhog Festival. This seems more sane since even this year when they are having a mild winter, the high will only be in the 30s.
Happy Ground Hog Day to one and all!
I laughed out loud thinking of a beaver and woodchuck battling each other! I imagine the deuling rodents would try to gnaw each other to death. For my money, I’d bet on the beaver. I believe they can use their powerful tails for serious smack-downs.
Laurel,
Nice to have you drop by. And, since I am an alum of the mighty beaver team, I have to agree with your assessment that the beaver is more likely to win.