2008 Woodie Awards
Fat rodents, prognostication and men in top hats
The history behind the Groundhog Day superstition
Nicole Klaas, Editor-in-Chief
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"Rise and shine, campers, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today."
Long before Phil Connors and the 6 a.m. chatter of two overly-enthusiastic disc jockeys immortalized Feb. 2 in "Groundhog Day," a stout rodent became one of the world's most famous weathermen. According to the tradition, if the groundhog emerges from his hole and sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter, and the absence of a shadow is the omen of an early spring.
While Bill Murray's popular comedy highlights one of the most acclaimed groundhog celebrations in Punxsutawney, Penn., Punxsutawney's Phil is only one of several celebrated prognosticators. As near as Sun Prairie, Wis., Jimmy IX will submit his official prediction next Thursday.
Jerry Hahn, 63, a building inspector for the city of Sun Prairie, has been taking care of the official Sun Prairie groundhog for three years.
"We think he's much more special than Phil, but Phil has been around for a long, long time, and I think he was the original," says Hahn. "But we think our Jimmy is smarter than Phil because we're right more often."
According to Lara Natzke, project coordinator for the Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce, Jimmy boasts an 80 percent accuracy rate.
"We're pretty proud of his accuracy rate, which is way better than some weathermen out there," she says.
Though explanations for the roots of Groundhog Day vary, most sources agree the mid-winter tradition dates back to sixth century Europe and Candlemas Day. On this day clear weather was considered indicative of winter's continuation, while cloudy skies were believed to mean winter was nearing an end.
According to groundhog.org, the official site for the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, the tradition was passed on to the Germans during Roman conquests. The Germans "picked it up and concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, an animal, the hedgehog, would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather."
When the Germans settled in Pennsylvania they chose the groundhog, an animal they found in profusion, to carry on the tradition of the hedgehog. Eventually the day grew into a large spectacle complete with local dignitaries outfitted in formal garb and top hats.
Associate Professor of Business Administration Mary Avery, an animal enthusiast, who keeps many animals on her ranch outside the city of Ripon, says she's encountered wild groundhogs on several occasions.
"They're actually quite nasty," she says. "They're not very nice animals. One could wonder out loud why a relatively antisocial animal was chosen to sort of be the official harbinger of spring."
Yet, Hahn and Natzke assert Jimmy IX's temperament is opposite his wild-animal cousins.
"Jimmy VIII was very naughty. He was too feisty, put it that way. But my little guy now, I very seldom put him in a cage even when I travel school to school giving presentations, he'll sit right next to me in the truck and crawl all over me and give me kisses and things like that," says Hahn.
Also opposite the wild environment in which his cousins abide, Jimmy IX calls a manmade castle inside a renovated silo on the Hahn farm home. His pen includes an outside patio where he can sun himself, a straw pile bed, a limb to climb and chew on and ample food supplies.
During the winter months he spends his days asleep in the silo, refrigerated to about 40 degrees.
"He'll sleep sometimes from seven to 10 days and wake up and just be hungrier than heck," says Hahn. "So I have to make sure I have broccoli and carrots and apples ready for him to eat."
Feb. 2 Jimmy arrives at the ceremony in style when he and the Hahn family are picked up by a limousine and then parade through town with a firetruck escort.
"All the political dignitaries are there and anybody else who is somebody in Sun Prairie, and when everybody gets all done talking I'll take Jimmy and have him whisper to the mayor in Groundhogese what the prediction is going to be for the next six weeks," says Hahn.
Sophomore Kevin Baker of Sun Prairie says though he's never attended his hometown's Groundhog Day festivities, the day is a good way to bring together the community.
"It doesn't really have any effect on anything, but it's just a fun thing to do," he says. "It's a big event for most of the older crowd, I'd say."
According to the Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce website, its Groundhog Day tradition dates back to 1948, when Wisconsin celebrated its centennial year.
"I was born and raised in the Sun Prairie area and back in 1948 when it started I was six years old and I remember being part of it just as a little tyke," says Hahn. "When friends of mine said they really would like to retire from being the caretaker of Jimmy VIII I jumped at it because I just think it's a lot of fun, especially when you have a Jimmy the groundhog as friendly as this one. He's just a joy. I guess I'm just happy to be part of the Sun Prairie tradition."
Others feel the day serves as a way to break up the mundane winter months.
"It's the middle of winter and I think people are just excited to do something. People need a distraction at that time of year. I think it has its own momentum and people are excited to be out and doing something at that time of year," says Natzke.