The other Groundhog Day 2014
Photo posted February 3, 2014 in
News by Hannah Bressi
Not nearly as well known as Punxsutawney, Quarryville, Pa has a 106-year-old Groundhog Day tradition of its own. Octorara Orphie, the groundhog (albeit stuffed) at the Lodge of the Slumbering Groundhog outside Quarryville predicted another six weeks of winter to a crowd of several hundred lodge members, family and friends Sunday morning.
See photos from Punxsutawney here
The new inductees into the Lodge of the Slumbering Groundhog dress up and go through a gentle hazing for the month prior to Groundhog Day. / Photo by Hannah Bressi
Octorara Orphie, the 106-year-old groundhog, walked the grounds of the lodge Sunday morning before the start of the ceremony. / Photo by Hannah Bressi
Members of the lodge dress in white coats and top hats on Groundhog Day. The celebration includes a short parade, skits, and of course the announcement of the forecast. / Photo by Hannah Bressi
It goes without saying that attendees should believe in the power of Orphie to predict the weather. / Photo by Hannah Bressi
Each year one new member is dunked in the river. They become a member of the prestigious Dunked Squad. The Lodge has multiple squads, who each year go out to see if Orphie sees his shadow. These multiple reports make their method of prediction more scientific than others they say. / Photo by Hannah Bressi
The Dill PIckle Squad makes its results known to the Governor of the Lodge. / Photo by Hannah Bressi
A skit parodied a visit by the Today Show to Quarryville and an interview with Orphie. / Photo by Hannah Bressi
Governor of the Lodge of the Slumbering Groundhog Rick Rankin, right, would announced that Orphie predicted another six weeks of winter. Rankin says that Orphie has been right every year for 106 years, though on occasion the weather has been wrong. / Photo by Hannah Bressi
