HOODY HOO!: We were intrigued when scanning the Potter Leader
Enterprise, Couderport’s weekly newspaper, to find a photograph of
a large group of people gathered for “the annual Hoody Hoo
celebration.”

What might that be, you ask?

Here’s what the newspaper reported: “They came from all over
Potter County, neighboring Tioga County and from as far away as
York, for the food and fellowship that surrounds Potter County’s
follow-up to Punxsutawney Phil.”

The gathering place was the Gold Store, and more than 50 people
were there.

We continue with the newspaper account: “Faith in the woodchuck
has been seriously shaken. More often than not the rotund rodent
predicts six more week of winter weather. And prognostication is by
nature a passive – if lucrative – business.”

“The folks in Gold take a more active stance and hope – with a
mighty shout – to send Old Man Winter packing back up north. The
effort certainly can’t hurt, and it’s a whole lot more fun than
watching a fat rat sniff around for its shadow.”

Inside the newspaper, Jeannette Buck elaborated on this event
and its history in her column, “Words of Gold”:

“Since Gold Store Betty found the goofy ‘holiday’ on a calendar
several years ago and thought it would be a good excuse to have a
party, the Hoody Hoo celebration in Gold has assumed a life of its
own. Others have taken up the challenge, and there were Hoody Hoo
gatherings in Coudersport as well as other places around the
area.”

The event itself included a dance (with a live band) and a feast
of casserole and hot dogs inside the store. A T-shirt designed for
this special event proclaimed the date as Feb. 20, 2009 – although
we don’t know if this is a movable feast or not.

As for the main event, Jeannette writes, “It was much too chilly
to go outside for any length of time, so it was less than 10
minutes short of twelve o’clock when Wendy called the crowd outside
to the store steps. She led the countdown and at High Noon, the Old
Man’s dreaded hour came. The shout of ‘Hoody Hoo’ was heard over
the land. As happy as though their midday whoops and hollers made
all sort of sense, everyone headed back inside for food and music.
What silliness and what fun!”