Hank sees his shadow, so there’s more winter
Predicts more six more weeks of winter, and an Eagles victory
With a light snow falling overnight and again a little later in the morning, Harleysville Hank’s Groundhog Day prediction of six more weeks of winter wasn’t really a surprise.
“My shadow I see, more cold I fear,” Hank said through Steve Hunsberger, Harleysville Order of the Grundsow (HOG) geldhaver (treasurer), at the third annual Harleysville Hank Groundhog Day Extravaganza at the Mennonite Heritage Center.
What was a surprise was that Hank wasn’t going to beat a hasty retreat back into his burrow to wait for the end of winter.
“Call my travel agent and book my flight to Minneapolis,” Hank said, adding a second prediction — a 2317 Philadelphia Eagles win in the Super Bowl.
As usual, the ceremonies included the singing of groundhog-themed songs, such as “I’m Dreaming of the Great Groundhog” and “Groundhog Wonderland,” led by the Barnyard Singers, but this year, it was capped off with another song — “Fly, Eagles Fly.”
Highlights also included the traditional kettle-made scrapple, along with hot chocolate and coffee, and this year’s addition of funny cake and shoo fly pie.
For the first time ever, this year’s Extravaganza was being live streamed over Facebook, HOG habtmon (chairman) Steve Diehl said.
Proclaiming Hank “the greatest prophet of the age,” HOG schreiver (secretary) Randy Nyce told the audience, “He’s the greatest of them all/lean or stout or short or tall/any shape or any size/he’s the wisest of the wise.”
Diehl read the “Ballad of Harleysville Hank,” about the “very wise and loquacious” groundhog, and ending with a hearty, “Hail Hank” echoed by the crowd. The ballad tells the myth of Hank having been discovered when an old barn was dismantled and reassembled at the Mennonite Heritage Center on Yoder Road. The annual Harleysville Hank Groundhog Day Extravaganza takes place in the barn.
Groundhog Day is Feb. 2 each year. Falling six weeks before the calendar year beginning of spring, Groundhog Day is a lighthearted event in which if the groundhog sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter are predicted, and if the groundhog does not see its shadow, an early spring is predicted.
This was the second year that Hank saw his shadow, having also seen it two years ago at the first Harleysville Hank Groundhog Day Extravaganza. Farther west in Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil also saw his shadow this year, marking the first time Hank’s and Phil’s prediction were the same.
Information about Harleysville Hank is available on his Facebook page.