LNP January 28, 2011
From left, George Zook, Barb O’Neal and Nancy Shonk surround Mount Joy Minnie. (Suzette Wenger / Staff)
Mount Joy has the honor of being the home of Minnie, the county’s only female groundhog forecaster.
Minnie, a hand puppet who resides in a papier-mâché tree stump, debuted in 2008. She was the creation of Robert Myers, a Mount Joy shop owner who enjoyed entertaining folks by sitting in front of his store playing banjo.
“He was a very creative, if somewhat eccentric, gentleman, but absolutely delightful,” current Minnie handler Nancy Shonk said. “On Feb. 2, 2008, he introduced Minnie to the community, and we had a little groundhog celebration.”
About 30 people attended that first ceremony.
But Minnie’s forecasting days seemed destined to be short-lived with the sudden death of Myers that July.
Minnie remained in her stump in 2009 and might have permanently retired had Shonk not gotten permission from Myers’ widow to restart the tradition in 2010.
“She totally approved and gave me Mount Joy Minnie and her little tree stump,” Shonk said. “I’m now known as Minnie’s handler.”
This year’s festivities will begin at 7 a.m Wednesday at the Rotary Club clock at Main Street and Marietta Avenue.
“We just stand around and laugh and drink coffee and hot chocolate and eat donuts,” Shonk said. “At 7:10, we start acting really silly, and one of our cohorts brings a huge drum, and he starts beating it and waking Minnie up.”
At sunrise, Minnie will make her forecast as the crowd – including men in top hats and ladies in “their best spring bonnets” – tries to understand Minnie’s “groundhogese,” Shonk said.
The event has “about three minutes of action,” she said.
“Other than that, we’re just standing around talking, not working and misbehaving.”
