it's beginning to grow on me

I feel like I could keep writing about my weekend in Woodstock for days and weeks on end… but I’m not going to.

Seriously though, I could give a narrative account of trekking through the snow to get a few photos of locations that wouldn’t be on the walking tour. Or, I could invent a more interesting end to my interactions with a local unemployed man who reminded me of O’Reilly, or the random woman standing on a street corner a block off the square who I imagined might be my Nancy Taylor if the day repeated. Or, I could just share the last batch of photos and get on to other topics. Hell, I’ve got more of Benesh’s dissertation to pick apart, actors to profile. And, I’ve got more graduate papers to tie into Groundhog Day and I’d surely share them here…

Anyway, photos…

First, this photo, taken today.

That’s the current setup for my Groundhog Day stuff… though I just noticed my signed copy of the screenplay isn’t there. Gotta fix that…

Had to make a judgment call between displaying the mini-poster with Rubin’s signature or the script with Murray’s and Elliott’s. The script’s there on the right next to the big groundhog I got in Woodstock and the little Punxsutawn-e Phil Beanie Baby my daughter got me for Christmas. That glass is from Woodstock and the two rocks inside it are from the rock quarry where Phil drives the truck off the cliff. I didn’t get those myself but Mitchell Olson got them once upon a time and gave them to me (gave them to whoever wanted them actually). The t-shirt was a birthday gift from the speech team I coach—I didn’t end up getting any shirts while in Woodstock; I had considered getting the one from the bowling alley but I was hoping to win one of the raffle items so I put off buying a shirt until after the raffle, then never made it back to Wayne’s Lanes again.

I could use more space somewhere… or maybe it needs to expand to two shelves.

But, I was going to share the last of the Woodstock photos. Specifically, I wanted to share the library photos. See, after the festivities ended and the crowds disappeared, I found my way to the library because Bob Hudgins had mentioned that they had some Groundhog Day items on display. Turns out they actually have a couple displays, one small one near the entrance and one big one upstairs… Let me just show you.

That’s the display near the entrance. It’s got several of the Beanie Babies, including the one I’ve got.

A local publication covering the arrival of the production to town.

A little blurry, but that’s a notice from Bob Hudgins about employee parking for locals who worked around the square.

That’s closure notices about where they would be filming and parking. The date at the top is April 30, 1992 and there’s a stamped bit that says “NIGHT FILMING CONTINUES.”

Too blurry to read it all easily, but it’s dated from February and is signed by the Director of Community Development. Looks like it’s an upfront notice about where production would be parking and filming, generally speaking.

Didn’t notice when I took this picture but this proclamation was for this year’s Groundhog Day. The top says: “Proclamation Declaring February 2, 2014 Groundhog Day In the City of Woodstock.”

That’s the wide shot of the upstairs display.

Closer on the display case.

The left side has one of the trashcans used in the film and a sketch for the Gobbler’s Knob construction.

That drawing, a bit closer.

One of the plates that hung in the Tip Top with a description card. I noticed that Bob Hockemeyer purchased the plate. Pam Hockemeyer is the one who made the mandala quilt seen near the end of the film. Assuming those two are related, I should have looked them up while I was in town.

Bob Hudgins’ business card at the time—I’ve got his current one—and a description card for the groundhog pillow from Phil’s couch in the movie. Note: donated by Michael Hockemeyer. I really should have looked that family up.

Shooting script signed by Harold Ramis and Danny Rubin. I like that Rubin drew an arrow from his signature to his name.

A menu from the Tip Top donated by Pam Hockemeyer. Sigh.

Employee parking passes and the Woodstock Downtown Business Locator Map.

Another notice about shooting locations.

A thank you letter to the people of Woodstock (from the blurry look of it) from Harold Ramis and a signed photo from Bill Murray, signing as Phil & Bill.

A newspaper clipping: “Film crew goes to bat for charity.” Note the team name: Hogs.

”Location Shots” from Waynes’ Lanes.

A cast list.

This newspaper has an article about the warehouse in Cary where they built interiors.

To the right of the display case was this big cutout of Punxsutawney Phil.

And, on the wall, another display, with newspaper clippings. Close-ups follow:

Lastly, this was on display in the kids’ section of the library. The Headline on the fake newspaper: “Giant groundhog climbs Woodstock Opera House!!!”

Actually, there are a couple more photos to share. They were on the wall in the library but don’t link directly to the film.

First, the masthead; this is a copy of the McHenry County Democrat from 1892.

This image was at the center of the page.

Why it’s interesting is that the balcony-looking bit was added after the movie was filmed—the Pennsylvanian Hotel in the film does not have it. And, Bob Hudgins even implied that he didn’t like the change. But, as you can see from this image, it would seem the building had that thing there before, so the “change” was actually a return to a previous appearance, not something new.

For comparison:

Today’s reason to repeat a day forever: to memorize everything and make sure I’ve got the artistic ability to reproduce it all by drawing it if the photos aren’t clear enough.