COUNTY LIFE
Will he or won’t he? Groundhog Day on Feb. 2
Groundhog Day offers a touch of whimsy during the often bleak midwinter chill. Across the country, eager celebrants await a rascally rodent to determine if there will be six more weeks of winter or if the nation will receive an early reprieve from the cold.
It is fun to guess if an early spring is coming, and even more so to rely on a large ground squirrel to play meteorologist. To further enhance the Groundhog Day experience, burrow into these interesting facts about the holiday and the animal itself.
• The world can thank the Germans for the Groundhog Day tradition. The see-his-shadow concept was adapted from a German Candlemas Day tradition in which clergymen would bless the candles they needed for the cold season. If the candles brought a sunny day, there would be six more weeks of winter. However, clouds and rain signified that winter would end soon. Germans who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700s brought the custom to America.
• Germans once used a hedgehog as their animal forecaster. When relocating to Pennsylvania, groundhogs were used because they were more common than hedgehogs.
• Punxsutawney Phil is perhaps most revered for his forecasting abilities. However, more than a dozen states have their own prognosticating groundhogs. These include Buckeye Chuck in Ohio, Birmingham Bill in Alabama and General Beauregard Lee in Georgia.
• Phil has been predicting the weather at Gobbler’s Knob for more than 130 years. This is quite a feat considering groundhogs typically live between six and eight years. Folklore indicates Phil sips a magical drink that will prolong his life for seven more years.
• Phil’s full name is Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather-Prophet Extraordinary.
• Groundhogs also are called woodchucks and are a species of rodent known as marmots. They typically weigh between 12 and 15 pounds. Woodchucks really have nothing to do with wood or chucking. The name stems from an Algonquian name wuchak.
• The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration says Phil has seen his shadow more times than not between 1887 and 2019. Statistically speaking, six more weeks of winter is often the norm.
• Groundhogs prefer to live in open country or at woodland edges. They are never far from a burrow made in well-drained soil. Most have summer and winter dens.
• Groundhogs are adept at predicting the arrival of spring, just not in the way people have come to know from Groundhog Day. Since they hibernate, when groundhogs emerge from their burrows, it’s a sure sign spring is on its way.
• The 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray helped solidify Punxsutawney Phil as a national hero and household name. Since then, crowds numbering as high as 30,000 have made the pilgrimage to see Phil in person.
Groundhog Day brings some levity to an otherwise uneventful time of year.
In recognition of National Adoption Awareness Month this November, Texas Community Counseling and the Heart Gallery of Northwest Texas are partnering to bring resources to Montague County families.
The two organizations will host an adoption, foster care and kinship care resource fair on Nov. 14 at the United Presbyterian Church of Montague County Fellowship Hall, located at 300 W. Nelson St. in Bowie.
The resource fair will run from 10 a.m. to noon, bringing together local agencies and service providers to answer questions and share information about support available within the county.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
Members of the Montague County Historical Commission invite the community to join them on Nov. 14 for a Rolling Bus Tour.
This tour will cover the cemeteries in the south west corner of Montague County. You will have the opportunity to stroll through some of the cemeteries, others the bus will stop and Commission member Calvin Durham will tell the history of the cemetery.
The bus tour will meet at the Old Jail in Montague at 9 a.m. and return at approximately 3 p.m. The tour will include a sack lunch, a brochure of each cemetery visited and a book “This Soil will Grow Grapes” written by Melvin Fenoglio.
The cost of the tour is $20 for adults. There is no charge for children under 12. The commission members strive to preserve the history of the county and to share as much of it as possible with our citizens. You can RSVP by calling 940-841-2674 or 940-872-1007. Please leave a message with your name if there is no answer.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System at 1:20 p.m. on Nov. 17.
FEMA’s emergency alert system is a national public warning system made up of thousands of radio, TV, cable and satellite and wireline video providers. Through the EAS, the President can address the American people or share life-saving information with the public during a national emergency.
FEMA is required by law to conduct a nationwide test of the public alert and warning system at least once every three years. These tests allow FEMA to identify technical or operational issues before the system is needed during an actual emergency.
FEMA and the FCC are sharing the test date in advance because it is important the public understands what to expect on the day of the test.
At approximately 1:20 p.m. (Central time), on Nov. 17, all the electronics providers will interrupt normal programming to relay a test message.
This message will state: This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency management Agency, covering the United States from 1:20 to 1:50 p.m. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”
When the test is concluded, normal programming will resume.
FEMA and the FCC are coordinating with stakeholders, including participating communications providers as well as federal, state, tribal and territorial agencies to prepare for and conduct the test.
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