We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Toni Dafoe, a member of the Whitlash Presbyterian Church, shows bread baked in the shape of a hog. It was part of a potluck dinner with a "ground hog theme" held the Sunday after Ground Hog Day at the church. Other ground hog dishes included hogs in a blanket, pork enchiladas and even cookies with bacon.
The hoary marmot is common to much of the 'alpine' region of Montana and is often referred to as the "Montana Ground Hog." Full grown hoary marmots are about the same size as a midwestern ground hog/woodchuck. Also called 'rock chucks,' this species of Montana marmot gets its name from the silver-gray hair on its shoulders and back. Ground hogs/woodchucks, a separate species, tend to be dark brown with black feet and legs. The only recorded sighting of a ground hog in Montana occurred in 1895 near the state line with Idaho.
From Whitlash. For readers who missed it, Ground Hog Day was Saturday (February 2). That's the day the furry weather prognosticator gives an insight as to how much longer winter will last. Growing up in southern Illinois, where the woodchucks are widespread, my family made kind of a deal about the day. As kids we anticipated the day, hoping, "The ground hog doesn't see its shadow so spring will come soon."
In our fifty plus years of marriage my wife and I have lived in seven different states, including four different areas of Montana. I'm always curious to see how people in different areas celebrate Ground Hog Day. When we got to Libby, the first place we lived in the Treasure State, I discovered there are no ground hogs in Montana. And Montanans tend to pooh-pooh what the famous national ground hogs (like Punxsutawney Phil, in Pennsylvania, and General Beauregard Lee of Georgia) forecast because, "We will have a bunch more winter what ever the ground hogs forecast. Ground hog forecasts don't mean much in Montana."
New to the Sweet Grass Hills I was curious to see if the ground hog forecast might carry any weight up here. Locals told me, "Our equivalent to a ground hog is the hoary marmot but we don't look to see if it sees it's shadow." Actually, the ground hog and the hoary marmot are both members of the squirrel family. There are two species of marmots common to Montana, the yellow-bellied marmot lives in some areas in the middle of the state. The hoary marmot (also called a 'rock chuck') lives in the 'alpine areas' of the western third of the state. Per locals, hoary marmots are common in the Sweet Grass Hills.
Speaking of ground hogs/woodchucks in Montana, alert readers may recall that only one woodchuck has ever been documented in the state. That woodchuck was observed near the border with Idaho in 1895.
Especially alert readers may be aware that the Montana State Extension Service offers a bulletin called "Non chemical control of woodchucks." Even though the one and only spotting of a woodchuck happened nearly 125 years ago in the state, it never hurts to be prepared should one of the pesky varmints decide to burrow under a shed or damage a garden (in case you don't want to take the time to find and read the bulletin about non chemical control, one simple method involves shot guns and .22 rifles).
Here's one more observation about the Ground Hog Day, 2019 and Montana. I read that the Roxy Theater, in Missoula, was hosting its third marathon showing of Ground Hog Day. The 1993 movie stars Bill Murray as a hapless weatherman who gets caught in a replay of Ground Hog Day over and over. The movie actually helped popularize Punxsutawney Phil and his supporters at Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania.
The Roxy's marathon gives moviegoers a chance to win a commemorative t-shirt and a special Ground Hog Day Membership which allows free admission to movies at the Roxy for an entire year. Participants in the marathon pay a fee to watch seven screenings of the iconic movie-with a ten minute break between each showing. Regular 'patrols' make sure no contest participant is sleeping, looking at their cell phone, reading a book or otherwise not engaged in the movie. The first showing begins at 10am with the final one shown at 10pm. "Missoulian" reporter Peter Friesen who covered the marathon in 2018 wrote in response to my email inquiry that he heard only two people successfully completed the marathon the first year. The second year had a few more winners.
It's not all about ground hogs
There is also religious significance to February 2. The day is 40 days after Christ's birthday. In Luke's Gospel Christ was brought to the Temple by Mary and Joseph for the baby's presentation 40 days after the birth. Luke 2 describes the reaction of Simeon, a holy man at the Temple, who rejoiced when he saw the baby Jesus and recognized him as the promised savior of the Jewish people.
Many religious traditions celebrate February 2 as Candlemas. In Europe especially, Christians bring their winter candles to be blessed (Candle Mass) to provide light through the winter. The long candles symbolize the long winter nights to come and the need for light. Putting candles in house windows actually grew out of Candlemas and the blessing of the candles. In pre-Christian times the day was celebrated as the Festival of Light.
Candlemas/Ground Hog Day in the Presbyterian Church at Whitlash
The church planned its annual congregational meeting with a baptism and holy communion during the regular worship. The worship service was to be followed with a pot luck dinner. A couple of weeks before this Sunday I asked the members to bring dishes for the pot luck made with 'ground hog,' a fun way to connect the religious events in the church and the secular parts of this time of year.
The cooks responded with gusto. Here's a list of the dishes prepared using ground hog: pork enchiladas; ham and potato casserole; pulled pork sandwiches; hogs in a blanket; bacon and cooked potatoes; and bacon, cauliflower and broccoli salad. Of special note were "bacon cookies" (yes, cookies with bacon in them) and hog-shaped bread. Who would have thought all these cooks in beef country could be so creative using pork? How the locals rose to the occasion for Candlemas/Ground Hog Day 2019 is another great example of their adaptability to new challenges.
