Punxsutawney...and, one from the archive:

It's quiet, and there's not much to write about.  So, with Phil still on everyone's mind, have any of you ever visited the borough of Punxsutawney, PA?  (Not Gobbler's Knob, the town of Punxsutawney?)  As you might have suspected, the town's name comes from Indian words - meaning roughly "town of the sandflies." 

There is reportedly a German tradition that if the sun comes out on the Candlemas holiday, a hedgehog will see its shadow and six more weeks of winter will follow.  Early settlers in the area included a large Germanic population, and the tradition followed...using groundhogs instead of hedgehogs.   Hence, Groundhog Day.

My wife and I drove through Punxsy in the spring of 2012.  First established in about 1816, Wikipedia says the population as of 2010 was 5,962, with an unknown number of groundhogs in residence (a bit of tongue-in cheek humor there, I guess.)  Located roughly 90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, and 100 miles southeast of Erie, on US Route 119 (two lanes, no interstates here), the borough has a total area of 3.4 square miles.

It's a neat little former railroad town...the B&O operated Riker Yard nearby.   Nowadays, the yard is still there, and in use.  But tracks are owned/operated by the Buffalo & Pittsburgh (B&P) Railroad.  A high grade soft coal was mined in the area, and former industries served by the railroad included glass works, foundries, ironworks, machine shops and planing, flour, feed and silk mills.  Population has varied from about 6,700 in 1900, to about 10,300 in 1920,  down to the current 5,962.

No regular passenger trains serve the area...and there have only been a few special passenger operations.  (Pittsburgh and Erie are the closest large Amtrak stops.) Though years ago, I was lucky to have been able to ride one of them! 

A stylized groundhog greets you on the way into town...

Want information or souvenirs?  They have 'em both!

Every town has a main street...and this one is even called Main St....

The Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center...

In town is a small weather museum.  On its website, it appears to be devoted to (and provides interactive experiences about) all sorts of weather phenomena.  Quite interesting for a town as small as this.  While we didn't visit that museum, on our next trip through town, we might.... 

The Pantall Hotel...we were looking forward to lunch in the dining room.  But it was closed...

The town square...

Anyone recognize this character?

Yep, it's me...in the early 2000's.  Unfortunately, the image has been transferred between so many different computers, so many different times, that the date has been lost.  But, since I'm wearing the sandals I wore at that car show back in 2002,  I'd guess this was probably taken in 2001, while my hair was still in the process of growing out.

Speaking of my hair, you might be able to see that it was much fuller then, than it is now...so that style actually doesn't look too bad in the pic.  I call it my "beatle-bob" days.  However I'm not sure I could rock it this way now...maybe not quite enough hair.  

I might see if I can buy an inexpensive wig in a female bob style, and have it shipped to my beauty salon.  Then they can try to make it imitate what I'd look like if my real hair was done that way, and wear it home to let my wife see what I'd look like if I cut my hair.   I just don't feel comfortable making the BIG mistake of having it cut, finding it causes a major issue for her, and then having her insist that I cut it the rest of the way into a men's style, just to keep the peace on the home front. 

What do you think of this prehistoric look?  And do those of you who wear wigs think the stylist could get my real hair up under a wig, flat enough that it looks OK?  Advice, please!