(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Feb. 9, 2011)
STATEN ISLAND, NY — For the 30th time, Charles G. Hogg — a/k/a “Staten
Island Chuck,” — New York City’s Groundhog Ambassador Plenipotentiary, left
his hollowed-out log home at the Staten Island Zoo, Broadway, the morning of
Wednesday, Feb. 2.
In a 7:30 a.m. public appearance, Chuck — who had to be coaxed-out of his
domain by Curator Peter Laline — did not see his shadow, thereby forecasting
an early Spring.
Celebrating his good news, the furry Chuck held a news conference at the
Zoo on his Special Day.
“My success-rate beats the other groundhog celebrities paws-down,” Chuck
declared in a prepared statement. “I’ve been right 23 out of 30 times.
That’s almost a 77-percent success-rate. That amateur (referring to Punxsutawney
Phil) has been right only 39 percent of the time. You know what THAT means?
It means he’s WRONG 61 percent of the time. How he keeps his job, I’ll
never know.”
This year, both longtime prognostigator Punxsutawney Phil and “upstart”
Milltown Mel, making his third appearance, also did not see their shadows,
Chuck noted.
A groundhog seeing his shadow on Groundhog Day would be forecasting six
more weeks of Winter. Chuck is the only genuine groundhog in New York City’s
six zoological parks. Some other zoos use prairie-dogs.
Groundhogs, also called woodchucks and whistle-pigs, are active by day and
eat vegetation, such as grasses, clover and alfalfa. Chuck’s favorite foods
are corn and sweet potatoes.
For 28 years, the Zoo has celebrated Groundhog Day with a breakfast
ceremony, and this year’s celebration was no-different. Even though the Zoo does
not open until 7 a.m., guests started arriving early for the traditional
Groundhog Day breakfast of bagels, pastries, coffee and juice. There was singing,
the recitation of Native American folktales and special groundhog poetry,
and other fun doings.
Brian Laline, Editor of the Staten Island Advance and Peter’s father,
once-again served as Master of Ceremonies, donning a tuxedo and tophat for the
occasion. After John Franzreb trumpeted the horn, the prediction was made.
This year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg again let Peter Laline get the feisty
groundhog out of his home. In 2009, the Mayor grabbed Chuck and pulled him
out, getting nipped in the process.
This year, Bloomberg gingerly held Chuck aloft, after he was handed the
groundhog by his handler, and proclaimed, “There was absolutely no shadow
whatsoever.”
The Mayor was joined by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and
Congressman Michael Grimm. U.S. Senator Charles “Chuck” Schumer, D-NY, who
appeared in 2007, making the event “Chuck Squared,” was unable to attend
this year.
“There is no better place to be on the morning of Groundhog Day than at the
Staten Island Zoo,” Zoo Interim Executive Director Kenneth Mitchell said.
“The excitement, the anticipation, and all the pomp-and-circumstance that
comes with the notoriety of housing the world’s most-famous groundhog makes
this day a very-special one for Staten Island and for our Zoo.”
Following the ceremony, a special breakfast was held with Chuck in his
honor. This year’s ceremony was presented by Time Warner Cable’s East
Region/NYC.
Groundhog Day began as an ancient Celtic tradition, which maintained that
animals have special powers on Feb. 2 — the midpoint date between the Winter
Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Animals’ sensitivity to changes in the
weather was an invaluable help to farmers as they prepared for the Spring
planting season. Centuries ago, farmers could not be sure if a warming trend in
mid-Winter was just a brief thaw or a sign of early Spring. Their survival
depended upon their crops, and animals’ hibernation behavior was one way to
predict weather.
Chuck’s record of predictions is most-impressive. Chuck’s Groundhog Day
forecasts were correct in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990,
1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008,
2009 and 2010, and incorrect in 1984, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2007. In
1987, Chuck vacationed in Florida out of respect for Punxsutawney Phil’s 100th
Anniversary.
For more information, call (718) 442-3101 or 442-3174.
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