Arming, BURancastsr World Awaits Groundhog's Winter Forecast On Feb. 2 GAY N. BROWNLEE Somerset Co. Correspondent Most kids have heard about Groundhog Day on February 2 each year. That’s the day every body waits tq see if the groundhog will see his shadow. Of course, to see a shadow the sun must first be shining. If he sees his shadow, it means there will be six more weeks of winter weather and he will return to his underground hibernation to wait it out. If he doesn’t see his shadow, then spring should be just around the comer. Punxsutawncy, Pa., in Jefferson Co. is the home of the world’s most famous groundhog. His name is “Punxsutawncy Phil.” He lives at a place called “Gobblers Knob.” Each year on Feb. 2, very early in the morning crowds of specta tors and newspeople head for Gobblers Knob to see what Phil’s forecast will be. At 5:30 in the morning, folks can ride shuttle buses to the scene of action. Later they hold their breath while the president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club (this year. Bud Dunkel) uses the sumbolic acacia cane to tap on the door of Punxsu tawney Phil’s cozy, undisturbed burrow. Then, it’s my guess that Phil probably does a few good stretch es after his long winter’s nap, yawns hugely and finally pokes his head out of the ground. Seeing the cause of commotion, the aging aardvark no doubt says to himself, “Well, fresh grass and greens! Can it be Groundhog’s Day again so soon? Seems like I just laid down minutes ago.” Then casting a wise eye over the crowd, he plays his part bril liantly, because he knows (secret ly, of course) that the humans ex pect it. This groundhog is so special and respected in Punxsutawncy that his titles are many. He is the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Fearless Forecas ter and Unparalleled Weather Pro phet. (Check your dictionary to leant these definitions.) Other woodchucks have tried to outshine Phil but there is just one true Phil, said officials. In fact, of ficials don’t hesitate to dismiss the others as being imposters, pre tenders, fakers and johnny-come latelys, who are attempting to ride Punxsutawncy Phil’s glory trail. Only Phil is the accurate weather forecaster on Feb. 2, they said. Punxsutawncy, is said to be the I. Saturday, January a, i9W~ largest community in Jefferson Co. in western-central Pennsylva nia. Its population is approximate ly 8,000 persons. The earliest in habitants there were Indians, start ing with the Alligewi. When they migrated south, the Delaware and Iroquois soon arrived. In 1849 the town officially be came a borough. Nearly 40 years later, on Feb. 2,1887, the first of ficial trip was made to Gobblers Knob. Since then folks have lis tened each year for the weather word from Punxsutawncy Phil on Feb. 2. 1994 is the 107lh Ground hog Day anniversary. Celebrations in Punxsutawncy continue throughout Groundhog Day beginning with the trek to Gobblers Knob. Then everybody is invited to a big breakfast. All kinds of fun things happen during Groundhog Day. Groundhog sou venirs can be found everywhere. The Groundhog Banquet is held in the evening. A Groundhog King And Queen are crowned at the lo cal high school before the Groundhog Hop teen dance be gins. Foreign exchange students, rep resenting many countries, attend the festivities and arc treated like celebrities. During the week of July 4, Punxsulawneyitcs go “groundhog wild” for seven days with the Punxsutawney Groundhog Festi val. There arc races, cook-offs, card shows, cycling, puppet shows, petting zoo, circus, and concerts. There’s the Child Evangelism Storyhousc, museum, clowns, Friendly Purple Dinosaur and hula hoop contest. That still leaves scads more things to see and do. So it might be fun to check the location on the map or road atlas and plan to visit Punxsutawncy. It’s located 18 miles south of In terstate 1-80, about midway be tween the towns of Dußois and In diana. Set the mood for Groundhog Day by whipping up something really groundhoggish. For in stance, Groundhog Sundaes made with Chocolate Sauce and Spicy Groundhogs. Here’s how. GROUNDHOG SUNDAES 1 quart vanilla ice cream cut in slices Groundhog cookies Chocolate Sauce Place groundhog cookie on cen ter of ice cream slice. Drizzle chocolate sauce across ice cream and plate to suggest a shadow. SPICY GROUNDHOGS 2 cups sifted flour 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt A teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon 'A cup soft butler A cup molasses 1 egg yolk 1 slightly beaten egg Currants or raisins Sift together flour, salt, soda, baking powder and spices. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar un- A Look DONALD SMITH National Geographic News Service WASHINGTON. D.C. An adult male can outweigh 10 ele phants and would be able to see over a six-story building if it stood on its tail. Its massive forehead contains an exceedingly fine oil, mistaken by early whalers as sperm, that was once used to lubricate Soviet space vehicles. The sperm whale, relentlessly hunted in the 19th century for its oil, still roams all of Earth’s oceans, its numbers now esti mated at 1 million. But little is known about the behavior of these strange, elusive animals, which can dive more than 2 miles: how distant tribes relate to each other, or the purpose of the peculiar clicking sounds they make. A family of scientists, including their two small children, are mid way through a yearlong voyage in a 41-foot sailboat to revisit the 19th-century Yankee whaling grounds in the South Pacific and explore the family secrets of the whales. “We will examine the geogra phical variation in genetic struc ture and vocalization repertoire of the sperm whales of the South Pacific,” says marine biologist Hal Whitehead of Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University. “Most of the people who have studied sperm whales have chosen areas near islands where it gets deep very quickly, such as the Galapagos,” says Peter L. Tyack of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “But sperm whales are basically deep-sea animals, and the best place to study them is in the deep sea.” til fluffy* Blend in molasses and egg yolk. Stir in Hour mixture and mix well. Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper. Chill one hour or longer. Roll out small amount on a sugar sprinkled board to V* -inch thickness. Cut out cookies with a lightly floured cut ter. Place cookies on greased cookie sheet and brush with slightly beaten egg. Decorate cookie with the fruit for eyes, but tons and so forth. Bake at 350 de grees for 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly. Recipe makes 12 to IS large groundhogs or 3 to 4 dozen At Sperm Whitehead and his wife, fellow marine biologist Linda Susan Weilgart, sailed down the coast of South America, then headed into the open South Pacific through French Polynesia, American Samoa and other islands. After a stopover in New Zealand, they will sail back to the southern tip of Chile and cruise up the South American coast, returning to Nova Scotia in the spring. Aboard their custom-built research cutter, Baiaena, they are accompanied by their son, Benja min, 5; 14-month-old daughter, Stefanie; graduate student Natha lie Jaquet and a nanny. The sperm whale became an American cultural icon through Herman Melville’s classic, “Moby Dick.” Melville described the ani mal, which belongs to a family of toothed whales, as “the most for midable of all whales to encount er, the most majestic in aspect” Because of its famed evasive ness, Melville’s 1851 description of the whale is still largely true: “Far above all other hunted whales, his is an unwritten life.” All commercial whale hunting has been banned under a 1986 international agreement But some whales still are being killed for scientific purposes. Critics have accused Japan, Iceland and Nor way of violating the ban by killing excessive numbers under the guise of research. Whitehead, whose work is sup ported partly by the National Geo graphic Society, is a pioneer of “benign research” techniques, designed to spare the lives of whales and to interfere as little as possible with their behavior. Having the largest brain of any living creature, sperm whales, like humans, use a remarkably com plex range of vocalizations. small ones. CHOCOLATE SAUCE 4 ounces unsweetened choco late '/i cup butter '/« teaspoon salt 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar 'A cup evaporated milk 1 teaspoon vanilla. Melt chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over sim mering water. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Serve warm. Yields two cups of sauce. Whales Also like humans, whale parents care for their young for long periods. Adult whales cuddle their calves and each other by mouthing with their jaws, as though kissing. Scientists have speculated that the clicking patterns of sperm whales, called codas, may be forms of communication, or mat ing calls, or a kind of sonar used to locate objects in the water —or all three. It’s even been suggested that the sounds may be used to stun prey, which could account for how the leviathans catch their dinners of fast-moving fish and squid. One mystery is whether all sperm whales throughout the world share a common language of codas, or whether distant groups have different vocabula ries. If the latter is true, research ers postulate that contact between groups would be limited, and this would be reflected by marked genetic differences among the var ious populations. Whitehead is collecting sloughed skin samples of whales for analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, to find out if there are major variations. Renowned among fellow whale researchers for his seamanship and ability to handle disasters, Whitehead has so far reported smooth sailing. “The kids are loving it,” says Dalhousie graduate student Mary Dillon, who talks to Whitehead periodically by radiotelephone from Nova Scotia. “The 5-year old has seen all kinds of dolphins and manta rays, and he’s been fit the water snorkel ing, having a great time.” As for the toddler, Dillion reports: “She’ll actually be learn ing to walk on a boat.”
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