Berry College groundhog predicts more frosty weather

Berry College received a visit from a furry forecaster as Professor Hermann Hog made an official debut at the college’s first Groundhog Day ceremony Thursday.

While many wild groundhogs do grace the Berry campus and surrounding area, this groundhog made a special trip from the North Georgia Zoo.

“We have had groundhogs in our yards and our dean of students even told me that a groundhog had taken up residence under her house, so there are plenty around,” laughed Steve Briggs, president of the college. “One of our students volunteered to go out and trap one for us, but it turns out you aren’t supposed to do that.”

According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it is illegal to capture or keep wildlife. This idea began because Beth Anne Turpin, Berry junior and office manager in the president’s office, was inspired while watching Groundhog Day festivities in 2016.

“We were sitting in the workroom watching,” Turpin explained. “And we thought, how cute would it be to have our own Groundhog Day ceremony. It started as a joke.”

However, the more they talked, Turpin said they started realizing that the idea was really cool.

“We researched getting our own groundhog,” she said. “That is really, really hard to do, because you must pass regulations, so we decided it would be easier to rent one.”

They contacted t he North Georgia Zoo in Cleveland and asked about bringing a groundhog to the college for the ceremony.

“This way, we knew we had a calmer animal that the students could get closer to,” she said.

The l arge crowd — made up of Berry College students, as well as students from Berry College Elementary & Middle School — gathered on the Krannert Center lawn was gratifying to Turpin, she said.

“I was nervous,” she admitted. “What if no one comes? But it is really exciting to see so many people show interest.”

Briggs acted as master of ceremonies and introduced the groundhog.

“This is a tradition across t he country,” Briggs said. “Punxsutawney Phil has been a tradition since 1887.”

Briggs said while it is up to the students, he hopes the Groundhog Day tradition will carry on at Berry.

“We love our strange, wonderful traditions here,” he said. “This fits in the basket with all the others. Also, we love our critters.”