Walter (in case you didn't know him while in twi) was very close to wierwille and taught some classes, but he left (or was kicked out? I don't know which) probably also during the 1980s... he's the one who first made a big deal about (for many of us anyway) "the only day of the year that's also a command!"
Walter was generally a good guy... I'm scratching my head, and my memory on this is foggy, but didn't Walter's mother marry one of Wierwille's brothers at some point?
Pennsylvania's earliest settlers were Germans and they found groundhogs to in profusion in many parts of the state. They determined that the groundhog, resembling the European hedgehog, was a most intelligent and sensible animal and therefore decided that if the sun did appear on February 2nd, so wise an animal as the groundhog would see its shadow and hurry back into its underground home for another six weeks of winter.
Walter J.'s mom was Naomi Wierwille. Naomi married Harry Wierwille, but Walter was her son (and I believe her only child) from her previous marriage. I believe she was a widow when she met Harry.
I spoke to Naomi after Walter was kicked out... she was terribly distrot about the whole thing.
Well.. one day. Crowds have arrived.. imagine getting a glimpse of Phil is like getting tickets for the Rolling Stones..
At 7pm Mountain Standard Time (about an hour and a half from now), the Discovery HD Theater channel is having a one hour program called Day of the Groundhog.
If you have the channel, it'll probably be pretty good.
Hooray! Memphis did get some snow to celebrate Groundhog Day. Wednesday night there was about a 10 minute span where it snowed. I missed it. Late this afternoon and early this evening it snowed for about an hour. So pretty to watch, but wish the flakes had been a bit larger so they were easier to see. More is possible around midnight. Looks like tomorrow is out as the temp is now supposed to go up to 37 degrees.
Glad I got to see at least a bit of that beautiful white stuff!
A bit of trivia: He's seen his shadow 90+ times and has not seen about 15 times in all the years they've been doing this (I don't remember the exact figures and have to get back to work).
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excathedra
hail punxsutawney phil
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Ham
<<<<
Ala, what in the world would give you that idea..
Phil, seen setting his sights on an early spring..
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coolchef
command day is very serious too!
can any one guess what it is??
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dmiller
March forth 4th! :)
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Suda
And to celebrate Groundhog day, SNOW is predicted for Memphis on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week! Sure hope it happens!
Suda
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Rocky
No! That's Walter J Cummins Day!
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dmiller
Heh heh!! -- You're going to have to discuss that one with CoolChef,
as he is the one who calls it *command day*. ;)
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Rocky
Coolchef...
March Forth is Walter J Cummins Day!
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coolchef
damn
i didn't know about wjc
i alwasys thought in was command day
good one dan!
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Rocky
Walter (in case you didn't know him while in twi) was very close to wierwille and taught some classes, but he left (or was kicked out? I don't know which) probably also during the 1980s... he's the one who first made a big deal about (for many of us anyway) "the only day of the year that's also a command!"
Walter was generally a good guy... I'm scratching my head, and my memory on this is foggy, but didn't Walter's mother marry one of Wierwille's brothers at some point?
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Ham
Four days to go..
from http://www.groundhog.org/faq/
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Ham
Three days..
from the same web site:
who could argue..
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Rocky
Don't they have a web site that broadcasts streaming video of the event? I think I may have watched one year... or tried to anyway.
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Ham
Two days..
Yeah, I think they have streaming video.. I was looking for the link, but it appears that their server is down at the moment.
I can hear the crowds gathering, some angrily chanting, "No shadow, no shadow, no shadow..."
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A la prochaine
Rocky,
Walter J.'s mom was Naomi Wierwille. Naomi married Harry Wierwille, but Walter was her son (and I believe her only child) from her previous marriage. I believe she was a widow when she met Harry.
I spoke to Naomi after Walter was kicked out... she was terribly distrot about the whole thing.
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johniam
March 4th. Once LCM did a SNS teaching and called it that saying he got the joke from a Boy's Life mag when he was a kid.
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Ham
Well.. one day. Crowds have arrived.. imagine getting a glimpse of Phil is like getting tickets for the Rolling Stones..
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Rocky
At 7pm Mountain Standard Time (about an hour and a half from now), the Discovery HD Theater channel is having a one hour program called Day of the Groundhog.
If you have the channel, it'll probably be pretty good.
http://dhd.discovery.com/tvlistings/schedu...&date=today
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Suda
Hooray! Memphis did get some snow to celebrate Groundhog Day. Wednesday night there was about a 10 minute span where it snowed. I missed it. Late this afternoon and early this evening it snowed for about an hour. So pretty to watch, but wish the flakes had been a bit larger so they were easier to see. More is possible around midnight. Looks like tomorrow is out as the temp is now supposed to go up to 37 degrees.
Glad I got to see at least a bit of that beautiful white stuff!
Suda
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Belle
Well......DID HE???
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Noni1974
Nope he didn't.It's a early spring this year.LOL
:biglaugh: 
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Linda Z
A bit of trivia: He's seen his shadow 90+ times and has not seen about 15 times in all the years they've been doing this (I don't remember the exact figures and have to get back to work).
I wouldn't mind an early spring!
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Suda
An early spring is fine with me. We celebrated Groundhog Day with an inclement weather day, schools closed due to the SNOW!
Suda
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Ham
Yep.. NO SHADOW, and the first time in how many years!
Anybody watch? He looked rather feisty, his "handler" was having a tough time of it.
Early spirng, hooray.. maybe Phil got on the Al Gore global warming team..
I haven't seen what Phil's southern counterpart said yet.. anybody hear?
Edited by Mr. HammeroniLink to comment
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