HOPE — If your faith is in folklore, this is good news.
The thick fog that covered the Hope Town Square Saturday morning left little doubt what the annual Groundhog Day weather prediction would be. According to Grubby the groundhog, it’s an early spring.
With temperatures in the upper 20s, the event managed to pull in a crowd of about 150 spectators — more than twice the number that attended last year when 11 degree temperatures prevailed.
This year’s ceremony at the bandstand began in the usual fashion with David Miller — one of four event officials wearing top hats and tails — making the official request to Grubby the Groundhog.
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“Grubby — awake from your slumber and tell us the news. If your shadow you see, six more weeks of the blues. If no shadow in sight, then we shall rejoice. Spring will be here soon. So tell us your choice,” Miller proclaimed.
Since the animal has been hibernating since November, the groundhog was not happy to be thrust into the spotlight by the men known as Grubby’s Groupies, said Kathy Hershey, Grubby’s handler and co-founder of UTOPIA Wildlife Rehabilitators.
But when the 5-year-old woodchuck was pulled from her box, Grubby stayed calm and gently nuzzled against Hershey’s warm coat.
After a few moments of discussion, Grubby’s Groupies member David Webster was handed the prognostication to read aloud as the fog seemed to keep getting thicker.
“Last year, I had a need for sunglasses to read this,” said Webster as he went off-script for a moment. He then tossed his sunglasses on the snowy ground, and said: “I pleased to say I don’t need these at all this year.”
It was then that Webster read the official proclamation that ended the short ceremony with a loud cheer.
“No shadow she sees. The groundhog has spoken. The winter’s long spell will shortly be broken,” Webster said.
Compared to last year’s event, there were a few revisions.
Two women — Main Street of Hope member Jessica Brown and Yellow Trail Museum Director Lizzie Flora — are now the first female members of Grubby’s Groupies. During the ceremony, both women were decked out in 19th Century formal attire that made them look right in place with the mens’ top hats and tails.
Members of the Hauser High School band were unable to perform at this year’s event. That’s because many spent their Saturday in a statewide solo and ensemble contest sponsored by the Indiana State School Music Association.
But most of the crowd in Hope clapped their hands and flapped their arms as the “Chicken Dance” was played over the public address system. Quite a few smiles also emerged throughout the crowd when the song most associated with Groundhog Day — the Pennsylvania Polka — was played.
Speaking of Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow in Pennsylvania an hour before Grubby’s appearance — and didn’t see his shadow either. Nearly the same series of events unfolded about 300 miles to the east, where Staten Island Chuck’s handlers also revealed the same prediction.
One thing that has set the Hope ceremony apart from similar events elsewhere is that Grubby’s predictions have been accurate 70 percent of the time, Miller said.
“That’s a record that outshines any weatherman we’ve ever met,” he added.
Another possible reason for the larger crowd is that Grubby’s annual appearance in Hope has received increasing coverage from the statewide media.
“We live in Indianapolis, and we’ve always wanted to go see Punxsutawney Phil,” said Scott Wolff, who came to the ceremony with his wife, Brittany. “But why go to Pennsylvania when you can come here to Hope?”
Wolff also mentioned the warmer temperatures predicted for the upcoming week as proof of Grubby’s accuracy.
Dan and Machel Heeren said they came to the event from their home in Ninevah after reading about it on a local news website.
“I loved it when I got out of my car, I could hear polka music,” Machel Heeren said. “And I was touched when I learned how UTOPIA had gotten the groundhog in the first place.”
Heeren was referring to the summer of 2014, when the groundhog had been severely wounded by a dog and left for dead on the front steps of a home. But Grubby was able to make a full recovery under Hershey’s care at the UTOPIA facility.
In recent years, the younger children who have attended the event have frequently cited the thrill of seeing a groundhog face-to-face as one of their biggest enjoyments.
Ten-year-old Paige Loichinger, who attends CSA Lincoln Elementary in Columbus, said she thought Grubby was much cuter than she expected the groundhog to be.
“And I’m excited its going to get warm soon,” the fifth grader said. “That makes me happy.”
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Using science and computer models, a 61-year-old Cummins, Inc. retiree who holds a doctorate in atmospheric sciences has made his own prediction about the arrival of spring.
While the upcoming week will feature temperatures well above normal, David Epperson predicts that south central Indiana will get back to it’s "roller coaster" of extreme periods in weather late this week.
Those living in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions will find themselves in what Epperson describes as "a battle zone" between colder air in the northwest and warmer air to the southeast.
The worst news appearing in the models is that another spell of shocking cold, with temperatures dipping as low as 10 to 15 degrees below zero, can be expected in parts of Indiana near the end of February.
But while the first half of March may feel "cool" (as opposed to cold), computer models are predicting mild springlike weather from late March through May, Epperson said.
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