We will meet inside at the posted location. Our Geocache Event Log Book will be on the table. No purchase is necessary and everyone is invited to attend. This is a great opportunity to meet other geocachers, exchange stories, trade trackables, or ask for help on tricky caches. We will also have a drawing for a special prize. We hope to see you there!
It’s Groundhog Day!
This seemingly bizarre holiday goes all the way back to the 1800s when the first Groundhog Day was celebrated in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
The famous movie “Groundhog Day” (1993) starring Bill Murray made it popular.
Did you know there are several weather predicting groundhogs?
The best known is, of course, Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. His full name is actually “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.”
Here are a few others….
Dunkirk Dave of New York is the second-longest predicting groundhog.
Staten Island Chuck, of New York, is said to have a pretty sweet accuracy rate at 78 percent (as of 2019). His formal name is Charles C. Hogg.
Buckeye Chuck hails from Marion, Ohio and dates back to the 1970s.
General Beauregard Lee, of Jackson, Georgia is famous around the South for his accuracy, listed at 94% according to PolitiFact.
Chuckles IX, of Connecticut, is living out his dream of being a famous weather-predictor.
Woodstock Willie is the local weather prognosticator in Woodstock, Illinois, where the movie "Groundhog Day" was filmed.
Western Maryland Murray is Maryland's own groundhog star, making seasonal predictions since 2008.
In Michigan, Woody the Woodchuck, another name for the mammal, is the designated prognosticator for the state, and one of the only female groundhogs appointed to the position.
Essex Ed has been making weather predictions in New Jersey since 1997.
Even the Birmingham Zoo, right here in Alabama, has a weather predicting groundhog! He goes by Birmingham Bill, but his his full name is Jamie Bill.