BRIAN THOMAS

On February 2, 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist,was celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s
Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to
tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day
and sees its shadow, it gets scared and runs back into its
burrow, predicting six more weeks of winter weather; no
shadow means an early spring.

Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian
tradition of Candlemas, when clergy would bless and
distribute candles needed for winter. The candles
represented how long and cold the winter would be.

Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an
animal—the hedgehog—as a means of predicting
weather. Once they came to America, German settlers
in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they
switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were
plentiful in the Keystone State.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson
(January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972)

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson, who integrated Major
League Baseball in 1947, was born to a sharecropping
family in Cairo, Georgia, on this day in history, Jan. 31,
1919.

His fight for racial equality and his exploits on the field
of play made him the first athlete in North American
sports to have his jersey number (42) retired by every
team in his game. (FOXNEWS)

Cynthia Jane Williams (August 22, 1947 – January 25, 2023)

Williams was a actress and producer, known for her role
as Shirley Feeney on the television sitcom Happy Days
(1975–1979), and Laverne & Shirley (1976–1982). She also
appeared in American Graffiti (1973). She died in Los
Angeles following a brief illness.

Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall in Laverne & Shirley
(1976 – 1983)