Groundhog Fans Look Downward

Whether he sees his shadow or not, Punxsutawney Phil is to get a look at two new handlers Friday when he lets the world know if spring will come early (i.e., if he does not see his shadow) or winter would hang on for six more weeks (i.e., if he does see his shadow).

Longtime handler Bill Deeley retired last year after having hoisted the groundhog into the sunlight more than a dozen times. Next in line to roust Phil from his stump on Gobbler's Knob are Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle members John Griffiths and Ben Hughes.

The pair admitted they are not as assertive with Phil as Deeley was.

"It's out of fear on our part," Griffiths said. "We hope that if (Phil) knows we're submissive, he won't bite us."

"It's an exciting thing to do," Hughes said. "It's a lot of work, but it's exciting to know you're a part of one of the most phenomenal parts of American folklore."

Each Feb. 2, thousands of people descend on Punxsutawney, a town of approximately 6,100 people about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, to celebrate what had essentially been a German superstition.

The Germans believed that if a hibernating animal cast a shadow on Feb. 2 - the Christian holiday of Candlemas - winter would last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early.

The groundhog population in the U.S., of course, is too numerous to count – most of them anonymous to humans – but a number of them are well-known in various parts of the country, as fans pay the traditional wait-look-and-see visit each year on Groundhog Day.

Punxsutawney Phil is, however, the reigning champion when it comes to popularity.

Interest in Punxsutawney's festivities got a huge boost in the early 1990s after the release of the film "Groundhog Day," in which Bill Murray plays a television reporter covering the event.

Since the first celebration in Punxsutawney in 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 14 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The last time Phil failed to see his shadow was in 1999.

The town's web site, groundhog.org, whimsically claims that there has been just one Punxsutawney Phil in the entire time locals have been gathering at his headquarters, Gobbler's Knob, and that he gets his longevity from drinking "the elixir of life."

Don't try to buy some for yourself – legend has it the elixir comes from a secret recipe.