What's the legend behind Phil? Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle president explains
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (KDKA) -- Groundhog Day has been a meteorological and cultural tradition since the 1800s here in Pennsylvania.
According to legend, if Phil emerges from Gobbler's Knob and sees his shadow, apparently we have six more weeks of winter, but if there is no shadow, we get an early spring.
Tom Dunkel, the president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle, told KDKA-TV's Chris DeRose that Phil's predictions and prognostications are never wrong.
"As far as the inner circle can tell, it's been 100%, 100% of the time," said Dunkel. "You might get other people who view it differently. But according to our records, you know, he nails it every year."
The KDKA First Alert Meteorologist team may take exception to these statistics, but OK, sure. Allegedly, Phil is never wrong.
Maybe he gets it right 100% of the time because of his many years of experience. That would be 138 years. Yes, Phil, is allegedly 138 years old. Apparently, there is not only a weather-predicting groundhog in Punxsutawney, but there is also a fountain of youth there.
"The way Phil gets his life is, we have a picnic in the summertime where he will drink what's called the 'elixir of life,'" Dunkel said. "Every sip that Phil takes, he gets seven more years of longevity."
RELATED: How did Groundhog Day begin? The origins of Punxsutawney Phil
So, there is only one Phil, like there is only one Easter Bunny or one Santa Claus. And like those two, once a year, Phil has a big job to do in front of thousands of excited people, from all over the world.
"The energy level that is up on Gobbler's Knob is palatable," said Dunkel. "You can feel it because the person to your right and the person to your left is just as happy as you are, and it is just fantastic."
The year's event, like it is every year, is free and open to the public. But folks should give themselves plenty of time to get to Gobbler's Knob before the 6 a.m. ceremony.
And whether or not you actually believe that this 138-year-old rodent can predict an early spring, Dunkel says that Groundhog Day is really just about fun.
"There are a lot of serious things happening in and around the world today and Groundhog Day is not one of them," he said.
