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Groundhog statue outside of Joe's to be completely refurbished |
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Front Page -
Front Page Story
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Written by Justin Brown
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Tuesday, 16 June 2009 |
Shown is the space in which the newly-fixed wooden groundhog will be placed once it is finished. (Photo by Justin Brown/The Punxsutawney Spirit)
PUNXSUTAWNEY — The last time anyone may recall seeing the giant wooden groundhog figure outside of Joe's Drive-In may have been in the movie "Groundhog Day," when a police car crashed through it.
That's not what happened to the figure outside Joe's Drive-In along Indiana Street, but the wooden skeleton of the iconic groundhog cut-out has left many locals and tourists asking, "What happened to it?"
"Several people have said, ‘Did you notice the groundhog is gone,' since I started selling here this year," said Shirley Wright, of Rochester Mills, who works for Pine Valley Strawberries & Produce, and has been setting up her stand at Joe's for three years.
Ashley Grace Bugay, of Punxsutawney, an employee at Joe's Drive-In, has also been questioned about the towering groundhog.
"A lot of people asked (what happened to it) the first day it was taken down," she said.
Joe M. Sikora, owner of Joe's Drive-In — that has been in his family for 41 years — said that the groundhog was taken down to be refurbished.
"It has been fixed before," he said, "but not completely refurbished. It was weather-beaten, and kids had vandalized it."
Sikora wouldn't say what the new groundhog would look like, the cost of fixing it or when it would be finished.
According to Bugay and Sikora, the groundhog brings in a lot of tourism, because people like to stop and take pictures with the giant-wooden creature.
"Some come in here after getting pictures," Bugay said. "We are probably losing a little (tourist business), but when it goes back up, I think more people will stop."
Bugay said most people who frequent the diner are local residents, so the business itself has not been hurt by the removal of the groundhog.
The giant groundhog represents more than just the business, according to Wright and Sikora, and the locals and tourists are waiting for its reappearance and new look.
"It's our symbol of (Punxsutawney)," Wright said, "and you hear people say, ‘Oh! It's Punxsy Phil.'
"It's part of our town," Sikora said, "and I want it to be there for them."
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 17 June 2009 )
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