It was that time of year, Feb. 2, when groundhogs across the commonwealth come out of their dens to let Pennsylvanians know if there is going to be six more weeks of winter. Yep. It was grundsow time.

The 78th annual meeting of Grundsow Lodge Nummer Ains (Groundhog Lodge No. 1 for the non- Pennsylvania Dutch) took place Feb. 4 in the Germansville Fire Company social hall.

And, thanks to the accuracy of the groundhogs' presdictions, the meeting was a day late because of a snowstorm the day before.

By the time the meeting could take place, the hall was crowded with avid groundhog followers eagerly awaiting the sage's prediction.

During the nomination of officers for the upcoming year, a motion was made to reappoint the existing officers.

William W. Williams will continue as president, while William J. Meck will serve as vice president.

Others include:Patrick J. Donmoyer, secretary; Gerald N. Breininger, treasurer, and Charles E. Brader as the ticketmaster.

Those five, along with LeRoy E. Brown, Daryle K. Gambler, William C. Mantz, Larry A. Williams, William Fritzinger, the Rev. Russel L.J. Heintzelman, Ronald K. Werley and Scott W. Williams comprise the board of directors.

Professor Richard K. Miller and Dr. William W. Donner are honorary members of the board.

Donald Breininger gave the ferbinnerei (the oath to the groundhog) to all those assembled.

They stood with paws up declaring their allegiance to the cause.

This was followed by the evening meal.

Some of the highlights of the menu were lechaw dawl hame geroscht hinkel, frisha worst, grumbiere, siess grumbiere, welshcan and other delectable items.

This translates as chicken, sausage, potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn.

While they were eating, the grundsow aficionados were serenaded by Die Rhinelanders.

Bill Meck introduced members from other groundhog lodges attending the gathering.

He noted this was a "fenster" meeting – the meeting was a window between two storms.

Groundhog Lodge No. 1 members then presented one of their traditional skits.

This year the skit was a hilarious parody about a class of people wanting to learn Pennsylvania Dutch dialect.

Meck stole the show with his acting talents.

Guest speaker Donald Peters gave the speech for the evening.

He made a comparison of how things were when he was young compared to today.

"Times have sure changed over the past 50 years or so," Peters said.

For readers wondering what the forecast was the groundhog so graciously extended to us, here it is: "It will be awful cold and if we get a lot of snow, it will get windy and the roads will drift shut.

"There will be some nice days, but they will be few and far between.

"Keep the woodbox full and the applejack handy.

"This winter will be a good time to fix the fly swatters and the screen doors."