Mayor defends keeping groundhog weather guesser Wiarton Willie's death a secret
The mayor of a small Ontario town defended its decision to keep a famous weather-prognosticating groundhog's death a secret for about a year, saying she was protecting the "Wiarton Willie brand."
Janice Jackson, the mayor of the town of South Bruce Peninsula, said the albino rodent died "quite a while before the last Groundhog Day," but didn't specify when, other than it was before its typical hibernation period in 2020.
"Wiarton Willie is everything to Wiarton and South Bruce Peninsula," Jackson told The Canadian Press in an interview on Thursday.
The town publicly acknowledged Willie's death this week -- months after he did not make an appearance on Groundhog Day -- and said a brown groundhog will step into his role next year.
Wiarton Willie is an albino groundhog who fictitiously predicts whether spring comes early or not depending on if he "sees" his shadow each Groundhog Day. The February festival in Wiarton, a community of about 2,000 residents, is a major tourist attraction for the area.
Jackson said the town wanted to have an albino groundhog "understudy" in hand before announcing Willie's death and "passing the crown" to the new Willie.
But they never found one.
"Timing is everything," Jackson said.
"Wiarton Willie has put us on the international map and we're very, very protective of the Wiarton Willie brand. And we were faced with a conundrum, clearly one that took us by surprise, and we had to plot a path forward the best way that we could to protect our town."
Willie died in his sleep of an abscessed tooth, Jackson said.
The town made a conscious decision to keep the death under wraps, Jackson said, hopeful they could find a replacement. Jackson said they got word out to zoos and trappers across Canada and the United States. But they ran out of time -- groundhogs hole up for the winter while they hibernate.
"We just couldn't come up with a white groundhog," she said.
"As soon as our window of opportunity closed, then we let the public know because the last thing we want to do is come forward on prediction morning with the brown groundhog when Wiarton Willie is the only albino prognosticator in the world -- and we didn't want to do that to our community."
Rumours of Willie's death had swirled since last Groundhog Day after the town released a video that showed the mayor tossing a fur hat and making the annual prediction about how much longer winter would last, without the animal in sight. There was no in-person event due to the pandemic. The Canadian Press asked repeatedly about Willie's whereabouts that day, but the town did not answer.
When asked if she could have told the public earlier, Jackson simply said "no."
When the last Willie died in 2017, his understudy was waiting in the wings. So the town held a prompt funeral while "passing the torch" to the new Willie in front of hundreds at Blue Water Park next to the Wiarton Willie statue.
The town infamously kept another Willie death a secret in 1999 for about a week until Groundhog Day. His caretaker, Sam Brouwer, discovered that Willie froze to death. The backup Willie had died several months earlier, so they were without a white groundhog.
The groundhog committee decided to host a funeral for Willie, and placed a previously dead and stuffed white groundhog in a casket and unveiled it on Groundhog Day, drawing sobs from children in the audience.
The mayor said she hopes the recent publicity of Willie's death will spark sightings of albino groundhogs all over in the world so they can "adopt" another white rodent, but admitted the timing now makes it nearly impossible to find a white groundhog in time for Groundhog Day.
"They disappear till the spring, unfortunately," she said.
Next year's Groundhog Day events in early February 2022 will be held in person.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, Ontario police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Sports columnist apologizes for ‘oafish’ comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
BREAKING B.C.'s short-term rental regulations include $10K daily penalties for Airbnb, other platforms
Short-term rental platforms that violate B.C.'s pending regulations can face administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per day, officials announced Thursday.
Taylor Swift's new album allegedly 'leaked' on social media and it's causing a frenzy
A Google Drive link allegedly containing 17 tracks that are purportedly from Swift's eagerly awaited "The Tortured Poets Department" album has been making the rounds on the internet in the past day and people are equal parts mad, sad and happy about it.
Motion to allow keffiyehs at Ontario legislature fails
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.