Why I love Punxsutawney

There's about a thousand reasons why I love my home town.  Some people like the big city, but personally, I wouldn't want to be anywhere other than a small town.  This is where my family was born and raised, and it's where I hope my children will be born and raised some day.  

I have four sisters, and three of them still live in Punxsy.  It's so nice to have almost your whole family live near you because you've got used to living with them your whole life and when they're closer, it makes you feel much more comfortable in your every day life.  Just knowing that you have family to lend a helping hand gives a great sense of security.  Almost as important as family, my friends are another reason this town is so great. 

When you live in a small town, you know almost everyone.  As long as you're easy to get a long with, you can have just as many friends and be just as popular as anyone in the big city, just on a different scale.  Around here, our heroes and superstars are the athletes, the small business owners, the coaches, the teachers, the every day average joes, and the student section leader (me).  

(me with the flag leading the team out on the field)

My favorite high school memories were just being crazy with my friends.  We didn't get in trouble, we weren't drinkers or partiers, we just had a good time.  We had the best times at football, volleyball, and basketball games.  There wasn't a team that came through that didn't know we were there.  I'm actually surprised we didn't get into more trouble because when I look back at it, we were pretty harsh on the other teams.

Sure we don't have a whole lot to do in this town except for hang out.  But that made the big events like school dances and big games even more exciting to look forward to.  

If you think I'm alone, you're wrong.  The majority of people who live in Punxsy love it.  Maybe it's because it's such a quiet life.  There's no taxis, no big mall, no college campus to cause disturbances, it's just a quiet and peaceful town.  Life in this town reminds me a lot of "That 70's Show".  It's almost scary how closely it represents most people's lives around here.  My group of friends is most likely to be found hanging out in a basement, watching TV or playing ping pong.  Most of us had to borrow mom or dad's car because we couldn't afford a brand new one.  And if we get bored, we just go drive somewhere.  I wouldn't trade that life for anything because it's what I've grown accustomed to.  I'm not saying that life in the city is not as good as a small town.  I'm sure there are a million reasons why most of the people here at IUP will tell you that they loved it in the city and they can't stand it here.  To me, it's just a difference in culture.  Most of us are probably going to like what we grew up in the best.  And that's the reason I love going to IUP Punxsy.  It's perfect because it allows me to live in the comfort of my natural habitat.  Even when I go to the Indiana campus, I plan to commute because I love being here so much.  My dream job is to one day become a history teacher at the high school or even here would be awesome!  But until then, I will just continue to enjoy my quiet life out in the country.  In the words of John Mellencamp, "my bed is in a small town, and that's good enough for me".

History of Punxsutawney

 

 

History of Punxsutawney

Punxsutawney is just a small town now, but at one time, it was the place to be.  First inhabited by the Delaware Native-Americans, this town would become one of the most famous small towns in America.  It is said that the first white settler to move to Punxsutawney was Jacob Hoover in 1814, who built a log cabin and a grist mill.  A grist mill was a common practice for grinding grain that farmers harvested in the 1800's.  Then two years later a reverend named David Barcalay came and established the settlement as a town. 

 

 

 

 

Up until 1883, agriculture and lumber were the main industries.  The timber was rafted down the Mahoning Creek all the way to Pittsburgh.  But in the late 1800's to 1940's, the biggest parts of the economy were mines and the railroad.  Much of the coal was sent to steel factories in Pittsburgh on the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad. 

 

 

 

 

All the big industries around Punxsy made it the perfect town for miners and railroad workers to go to.  It was a hot spot and in the early 1900's, businesses and families flourished with the good economic times.  The population reached its maximum of about 12,000 people in the early 1900's.  But with the Great Depression, many businesses failed and had the area struggled just as much as the rest of the nation.  Even in hard times, Punxsutawney will still always have one tradition to keep it on the map, Groundhog Day. 

 

 

 

 

 

It all started in 1887, when a group of hunters went up on a hill outside of town and hunted groundhogs and then roasted them over the fire and got drunk.  Yes, they ate groundhogs.  You will actually find that many families continued to eat groundhog meat up into the mid 1900's, including my grandparents!  It was when some drunk guy declared that the groundhog had special weather predicting powers that the tradition started. A group of men decided that if the groundhog saw his shadow, there would be six more weeks of winter, but if he didn't, spring was just around the corner.  Ever since then, Groundhog Day has brought a substantial amount of income to the town due to the many tourists that make the trek to see this rodent.  It has also brought some humorous memories for myself, like when Punxsy Phil peed all over the handler up on stage (a Terrible Towel was used for cleanup) and when Punxsy Phil actually died on stage and the handler had to move him around so people didn't realize it!  But I think my favorite memory was when I borrowed the school mascot costume and became the hit of the night, getting a picture with tourists every 2 minutes and made it on the Patriot News website.

 

 

 

 

 

If you don't want to head up to the Knob on a freezing February morning, you could always just watch the movie "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray.  Although any native of Punxsutawney will be happy to point out all the inaccurate depictions of our holiday.  Now that you have a basic understanding of how our town started, I'm going to stop talking and just give you some interesting pictures (can be found at the Punxsutawney Historical and Genealogy Society) to take a look at rather than listen to my boring words!

 

Railroad office building

 

 

19th century farmers in the Punxsutawney area

 

 

Downtown Punxsutawney (1940's?)

 

Old Punxsutawney High School

 

Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railroad

 

Groundhog Day 1963

 

 

High school football team

 

High school basketball team

 

Downtown (1950's?)

 

 

 

 

5 Things to do in Punxsy

 

 

 

Punxsutawney was voted National Geographic's "Most Boring Town in America" in 2008.  Well not really, but that sentence may have grabbed your attention.  It probably even sounded believable because lets face it, there's not much going on in this little town.  This seems fitting because the town of Punxsy needs an attention grabber of itself to even put it on the map.  As most of you probably know, that attention grabber occurs every February 2nd, Groundhog Day.  Groundhog Day is an old tradition where crazy old men in suits and top hats go up on a stage at five o'clock in the morning to pull a rodent named Phil out of a fake stump and tell people if it saw its shadow or not.  If standing in a large crowd of people shivering from the cold throughout the entire night while watching dancers and entertainers sounds like your cup of tea, then go for it.  However, you can find out about Groundhog Day just by typing a few words into a search engine.  I'm going to tell you five things that us natives do in order to keep ourselves busy.

 

5.  Skate Park

 

        That's right, this tiny little town has a skate park.  Although the skate park may be proportioned pretty well with the town, at least it's something.  If you're the kind of person who likes to skateboard, BMX, or even play street hockey, then you will find interest in the park.  The park is located in East End behind the Kuntz car dealership. 

 

 

4.  Rails to Trails

 

 

         If you're from the city, you may have never heard of a rails to trails.  Let me explain.  Punxsutawney used to be a major railroad town, which you might find can still hold true when you get stuck behind a train changing cars for twenty minutes.  But the railroad industry has dwindled, causing many railroad lines to be removed.  Rather than just leave these old railroad beds abandoned, they have been turned into walking trails.  The trail in Punxsy runs along Mahoning Creek and goes right through town and then into the woods.  Along this trail you will find bicycles, joggers, and usually some wildlife (birds, deer, GROUNDHOGS).  So if you enjoy the outdoors or just want to get a workout in a more interesting environment, this trail is the place to go.  You can get on the trail almost anywhere in town.  The closest place to get on is by taking the road across from Kwik Fill (Water Street) down towards the river and you will find the trail.

 

 

3.  Eat

         

   

          Yes, eating can be one of the most entertaining things to do in Punxsy.  Although you're just eating, it gives you something to do and go spend quality time with friends.  We have your normal chain restaurants, but then we have some quality family owned restaurants and dives.  My personal favorites are Frankenstein's, Franks Star Lunch, Joe's Drive Inn, Rumor's Tavern, Tres Amigos, and Chinese Buffet.  A few other worthy of mention are Pizza Town, Punxsy Pizza, Lily's, Stone House, Gimmick's, Neko's, and the famous Punxsutawney Phil's.  If you're a breakfast lover, then Punxsy Phil's and Lily's are good choices, but the best breakfast you'll ever eat will come from the Amish.  Take a drive out to Big Run or Panic (both 10 minutes from town) and you will find goliath pancakes, homemade cooking from scratch, and the best donuts and sweets that a person can find.  If you like something from another land, try Tres Amigos for authentic Mexican, Chinese Buffet, or China Wok for authentic Chinese.  If you're a wings and pizza kind of person, try Rumor's, the Stone House, Pizza Town, or Wednesday all you can eat wing nights at Gimmicks.  For burgers and fries, my favorites are Joe's Drive Inn, Frankenstein's, and Frank's Star Lunch.  If you know me and you have any questions about these places or how to find them, don't be afraid to ask.  If you're a complete stranger, it's no different because a stranger is just a friend we've never met.  So I'd love to give all of you a personal tour of the best restaurants in Punxsy!

 

 

 

2.   Go Somewhere Else

 

 

 

           I know this might sound like cheating, but it's true.  There is only so much entertainment in Punxsy.  One of the most entertaining things to do is take a short road trip to Dubois or Indiana to go to a movie or the mall. 

 

 

 

1.   Hang Out

 

 

         The single biggest thing to do in Punxsy is hang out with your friends.  The thing I love most about living in a little town is that it teaches us how to make our own fun.  In my opinion, one of the most crucial skills a person can learn is how to have fun by thinking outside the box.  Rather than sit inside and watch TV, go out and play basketball or football.  Go do something that's going to keep you busy and keep you out of trouble.  Unfortunately, many kids here don't have the ability to make their own fun.  But you can be different, you should learn to make the best of any situation because no matter how bad you think you have it, the chances are there is someone who has it twice as bad.