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February 1, 2015
WOLF CREEK HERITAGE MUSEUM NOTES by Virginia Scott MUSEUM HAPPENINGS The weather was nice and the Board met on Tuesday. As you may recall, The Board provides guidance for both the Lipscomb County Historical Commission and the Wolf Creek Heritage Museum. This meeting the group set the dates for our quarterly meeting: April 16, July 16, and October 6 at 2 pm. The April meeting will be our annual meeting with 2014 reports will be given. The annual fundraiser will be held in October. The group also discuss the goals for 2015. We still need student art from three of the school districts. We will be planning our February reception date and would like to have art from all of the schools. Our calendar for exhibits is complete except for the fall: Sept/Oct/Nov. If you have an exhibit (paintings, sculptures, toys, trophies, etc.) give us a call. HISTORICAL MUSINGS Monday was groundhog day and the three groundhog that predict for us, two did not see their shadows and predict spring and one saw his shadow and predict six more weeks of winter. The three groundhog live in Punxsutawney, Penn; Staten Island, New York; and Dunkirk, New York. The folklore for this day states that if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will persist for six more weeks. In southeastern Pennsylvania, the celebration began as a custom in the 18th and 19th centuries and has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog. The first documented American reference to Groundhog day can be found in a diary entry, dated February 4, 1841, of Morgantown, Penn. storekeeper James Morris wrote: Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate. The Scottish poem explains: If Candle-mas Day is bright and clear, There'll be two winters in the year. If Candle-mas Day be fair and bright, Winter has another flight. If Candle-mas Day brings clouds and rain, Winter will not come again. With this poem and two of the three official groundhogs, we should be having an early Spring. Time will tell. |
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