When I was growing up only one member of our immediate family had a February birthday. One of my brothers and my father have birthdays in December and two of my brothers have January birthdays. February, however, was reserved for our Uncle Ted. Uncle Ted was our mother’s uncle, but he moved to our town at the point of his retirement and shortly afterward began to work as the parts manager of our father’s farm supply store. He was widowed and though he was a bit of a loner, he joined our family for holiday meals and often for Sunday dinners. His birthday was an occasion for cake and celebration at our house. And his birthday was Groundhog Day, February 2. When we were older, my middle sister had a daughter born on February 2 to share the date.

Things have changed over the years. I married and my wife’s birthday is in February. We have a nephew on her side of the family with a February birthday. And now we have two grandsons with February birthdays. The nephew’s birthday is one day, my wife’s the next, and both grandsons share the following day. Our nephew lives in Portland, Oregon, and we won’t be getting together for his birthday, but I have still got a pretty good shot at getting quite a bit of cake next week.

Compared to the activities of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, however, celebrations in our household will be muted. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club began their celebrations with the Annual Groundhog Banquet last night. There was a members only reception prior to the sold-out banquet featuring speakers, music, and the announcement of the Man and Woman of the Year. After the banquet, there was a dueling pianos music show. Members of the club weren’t bothered by the late concert on a week day night because they are used to staying up all night on Groundhog Eve. After all, they have to be up early for what many believe to be the center of the celebration, the Groundhog Day Celebration at Gobbler’s Knob. The grounds opened at 3 am. Ceremonies begin at 4 am and continue until 10 am. Six hours of top hats and opportunities to have your picture taken with Punxsutawney Phil, the guest of honor. Phil is a groundhog and is seen as a weather predictor. If he sees his shadow as the sun rises on February 2, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, an early spring is in store.

Participants in the events seem not to be bothered that the weather predicting abilities of the rodent are less than stellar. The numbers of days with winter-like weather verses the number with spring-like weather don’t seem to have any real connection to how cloudy it is on February 2.

And for those who just can’t stop celebrating, there are events to continue. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club is hosting the annual formal Groundhog Ball on Friday. The theme of the dance is “Winter Wonderland.” I wonder if event planners had foreknowledge of the weather prediction for today. And if you are lucky enough to have gotten one of the tickets, there is a Lunch with Phil event at Gobbler’s Knob on Saturday. Presumably club members will rest and even take a nap on Sunday, February 5. I left out a few events occurring in the area such as the Punxsutawney Community Foundation’s Dance at the Eagle’s Club and “Groundhog Days in the Park” at Barkley Square.

I’m not much of a dancer. Even if I lived in the small town on Highway 119 between Sportsburg and Bells Mills northeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I probably wouldn’t be into the celebration that much. Not to put the damper on all of the parties, but the whole groundhog deal doesn’t appeal to me that much.

February 2, however, will always be a day for me to remember Uncle Ted. After all I got to share his name. And now I’ve reached the age he was when he was working at our father’s store. I used to love to go to the store and sit on a high stool next to his perch behind the counter. He had a special stool with a back on it. I have that stool in the shop at the farm these days. In front of his stool on the counter he kept a stone for sharpening knives. The store offered free knife sharpening for those who purchased pocket knives from the display behind the counter. Uncle Ted also sharpened kitchen knives and scissors when he wasn't waiting on customers. He was a pro at looking up parts numbers from the huge catalogues on the counter and finding just the right part in the many bins and shelves in the parts department. Sometimes, when there weren’t too many customers, he would teach me how to sharpen knives. I have a good stone over at the farm. I could sit in Uncle Ted’s chair and sharpen knives, but I rarely do so. The pocket knife I carry every day, which did come from that display behind the counter, is very dull and neglected. Perhaps a trip to the farm just to sharpen the knife and polish the blades would be a good way to celebrate Uncle Ted’s birthday.

My maternal grandparents died before I was old enough to have many memories of them. My paternal grandparents lived in a different town and although I have some great memories of times spent with them, my strongest memory of the folks in that generation of our family is of times with Uncle Ted. I bought my first car from him. When he decided to quit driving, he decided that I should have his car. It served us well, getting us through college and graduate school. It remained reliable for trips from Montana to Chicago and back for four years of graduate school, sitting outside with no garage all winter long.

Happy Groundhog Day! It is a day that stirs a lot of memories for me. I hope yours are equally pleasant.