“Huck’t eich bei! ‘Sis blends doi!”

This means Sit down! There is plenty here!

And there certainly was plenty of food, Pennsylvania Dutch culture, language and music inside Polk Township Volunteer Fire Department on Friday as Monroe County Groundhog Lodge 6 members held their 74th annual banquet, with about 190 men and boys in attendance.

Mike and Linda Hertzog returned as the musicians to play instruments and sing familiar tunes in Pennsylvania Dutch. Their musical styles include bluegrass, country, gospel and oldies.

“We have played 21 or 22 gigs so far this year. We played in Germany in 2017,” Linda Hertzog said.

One of the first tunes of the night was Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” The familiar tune had the attendees trying to sing along in Pennsylvania Dutch.

Sammi, a taxidermied groundhog and the lodge mascot, had a front-row seat next to the stage. She is one of the few females invited to the banquet. Traditionally, groundhog lodges are male-only events.

Groundhog lodge meetings started in 1934 in Northampton.

Lee Buskirk has been attending the banquet for years. He can still speak Pennsylvania Dutch pretty well.

“I grew up with Grandpa and Gram. I failed first grade because I couldn’t speak English because I was raised to speak Pa. Dutch,” he said.

He learned English so he could continue to progress through his schooling. And now, he has lost a lot of the fluency he had because he doesn’t have anyone to talk Pennsylvania Dutch with anymore — except when he comes to an event like this one.

Years ago, “speaking English at the banquet cost you 10 cents per word,” said lodge President Bruce George. “There was a red bucket on every table to put coins in when someone slipped up and spoke English.”

In recent years, the buckets have been placed there if attendees want to donate to the lodge’s chosen charities.

This year, they were able to donate $300 to Valor and $200 to the West End Food Pantry.

Camaraderie

Joe Shirghio and brother-in-law Jason Borger came up from Texas to hang out with relatives.

“I enjoy the camaraderie during the banquet, and the tradition of having a groundhog predict the weather is whimsical,” Shirghio said.

At 6 p.m., George stepped up to the podium to welcome everyone and lead them in a few verses of “America” and the Pledge of Allegiance, which were sung in Pennsylvania Dutch.

He then asked for a moment to honor all those present who have served in the military.

A moment of silence was then held for six lodge members who passed away in the last year.

The fire company’s Ladies Auxiliary served the meal family-style, with plates of turkey and sausage, bowls of candied carrots and filling, and baskets of bread being passed from person to person.

Of course, there was plenty of lattwarrick un schmierkees (apple butter and cottage cheese) to smear on their bread.

“I love all the food, except the cottage cheese and the tripe,” said Brian Handwerk.

Tripe is the edible stomach lining of cows, pigs, sheep and goats. It’s a popular side dish in Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine.

Handwerk can understand some of the dialect, “especially the bad words,” he said.

His dad’s parents and his mom’s parents spoke Pennsylvania Dutch a lot around him. Usually it was a conversation they didn’t want the kids to hear.

Spotlight on Sammi

After dinner, lodge weather forecaster Bob Andrews spoke about a “bunch of bad news, as the whole northeast is annoyed with all the snow.”

He recounted the chat he had with Sammi on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2.

“I may be old, but I’m not crazy. I called the groundhog and we talked on FaceTime,” he said. “She was totally fahoodled by the coldest winter she ever saw.”

Andrews agreed it was too cold for him to leave his warm house, so he wrote up their conversation and had George share it during the gathering behind Kresgeville Eatery & Bar that blustery Monday morning.

Sammi said there’d be six more weeks of winter, and then spring would arrive with the warm sun.

Jokes, stories

As dessert was being served, Bill Meck, from Groundhog Lodge 1 in Lehigh County, entertained the crowd with jokes and stories told in English and Pennsylvania Dutch.

“You’re very lucky to have a venue like this firehouse,” he said. “We are losing groundhog lodges and fewer people are speaking the language. We got to keep it going.”

He urged the men to keep educating others about the culture and language, saying now is not the time to sit still.

He had the Hertzogs play “New Year’s Wish,” a Pennsylvania Dutch song that is fading away.

The evening concluded with the 50/50 drawing and other raffle prizes.

“I like getting together to with all the people I only see once in a while. And the food was really good,” Brent Dorshimer, lodge secretary, said as he tallied money at the end of the night.