HARLEYSVILLE HANK

What began as a cryptic email in 2015 to the new Executive Director of the Indian Valley Chamber of Commerce has blossomed into local celebrity status for Harleysville Hank.

The furry stuffed groundhog has been photographed at various local Indian Valley events as well as his annual Groundhog Day extravaganza at the Mennonite Heritage Center.

Chamber President Steven Hunsberger remembers, “My first introduction to Harleysville Hank was through an anonymous email inviting me to respond to an invitation for the Harleysville Order of the Grundsow – it was all very cryptic. – I was intrigued and responded. Who doesn’t love an anonymous invitation from a mysterious underground dweller!”

Hank makes his annual prognostication at the Mennonite Heritage Center. As he only speaks PA Dutch, Chamber President Steven Hunsberger acts as Hank's translator.

Harleyville Hank’s Annual Groundhog Day Extravaganza encompasses the fun of the modern pop culture understanding of Groundhog Day and grounds it, if you will, with Pennsylvania Dutch culture. Hank and his adventures are a collaboration of the Indian Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Mennonite Heritage Center. As the local Grundsau Lodges that used to be a part of the region have closed, Harleysville Hank feels it becomes more important to keep PA Dutch culture alive in our community. As such, Hank only speaks PA Dutch and communicates his annual prognostications through a translator at his Ground Hog Day extravaganza.

Steve Hunsberger reminds us, "While Harleysville Hank may possess some surprisingly human-like qualities, it is important to remember that, at the end of the day, he remains a lowly Grundsow — a groundhog with an unusually impressive résumé in weather forecasting."

Harleysville Hank out and about in the Indian Valley

Joel Nofziger is the Executive Director of the Mennonite Heritage Center, 565 Yoder Road, Harleysville. He seems to view Hank almost as an aspirational figure. "Harleysville Hank is the perfect embodiment of the Indian Valley Chamber of Commerce and the entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian Valley. After all, we all know that the correct answer to the old question, 'How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?' is simply, 'As much as it can.'"

Steve muses, "Each year, Hank accomplishes what few community leaders can: convincing hundreds of people to willingly gather before sunrise on a cold, gray, and usually miserable February morning. We stand in the freezing air, waiting patiently for his big announcement, fueled by nothing more than the promise of hot coffee, Pennsylvania Dutch treats, and a generous serving of fresh, delicious scrapple.

And let’s be honest — while Hank gets all the attention, we all know the real reason people show up.

It’s the scrapple.

Hank may predict the weather, but scrapple is what brings the community together."

Keep up with the continuing adventures of Harleysville Hank

on his Facebook page.