Middlemiss Mike predicts six more weeks of winter

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Melbourne’s most famous fictitious rodent proclaimed six more weeks of winter weather after seeing his shadow on Groundhog Day.

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Middlemiss Mike predicts six more weeks of winter Back to video

Noted local stuffed amateur meteorologist Middlemiss Mike made the bold weather prediction during the 16^th annual Middlemiss-Melbourne Groundhog Day Prediction, at Melbourne’s Royal Canadian Legion Br. 510 on Feb. 2.

Joined by a host of local dignitaries from both Strathroy-Caradoc and Southwest Middlesex, Middlemiss Mike and his merry band of fellow stuffed animals were paraded outside the Legion, where Mike’s proclamation was made at 8 a.m.

A popular annual tradition that survived the past two years of pandemic-related challenges, Melbourne-Middlemiss Groundhog Day was the brainchild of JoAnn and the late Jack Galbraith.

After being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003, Jack decided to start holding the lighthearted affair a few years later, when he received an unexpected gift from his neighbours, Buck and Marg Longdo.     

“It just started out as a joke, really, because my husband had cancer and the neighbours said he was like a groundhog because they always saw him sitting on the porch,” JoAnn said. “So they got a stuffed Prairie dog during a trip in Alberta and brought it back and gave it to him.”
“So I told him we had a groundhog. We had to listen to Wiarton Willie and Punxsutawney Phil, why don’t we do something like that in Melbourne?”
The event, which for many years took place in front of Melbourne’s Porthole Café, became a fixture on the local calendar after Jack and his mascot Middlemiss Mike made the news with their whimsical predictions beginning in 2007.

Since then, the Melbourne event has grown by leaps and bounds, attracting large crowds and involving countless local elected officials all wanting to get their picture taken with the furry fake rodent and his friends, who have grown exponentially in number since the event’s inception.

Following Jack’s passing in 2013, JoAnn took over the reins of the annual event and has succeeded in making it even bigger.

Beginning in 2013, Jack’s beloved Melbourne Independent Order of Odd Fellows has held a fundraising breakfast to honour the Galbraiths’ legacy, feed the hungry and contribute to the community through donations to the food bank.

This year, 130 people turned out for the pre-Groundhog Day breakfast, JoAnn said, a great turnout considering this is the first year the event was held since 2020.

Middlemiss Mike has also become internationally famous, Jo Ann added, recently making a list of eminent ‘alternative’ spring prognosticators, which includes a lobster, a possum and an armadillo. And for the first time, a groundhog-themed colouring contest was held for children aged four to eight, JoAnn said, with 14 colourful entries submitted and prizes given out.

Strathroy-Caradoc Mayor Colin Grantham said that the event is a testament to JoAnn and Jack’s commitment to and love of their community.

“This has been going on for 16 years,” Grantham said. “And apart from what it is, it shows just how valuable someone like JoAnn is. To me, this event is important, but the person who has kept this event going for so long, a person like JoAnn Galbraith, that’s who is really important. A small community like this needs people like JoAnn.”

Southwest Middlesex Mayor Allen Mayhew said that the event brings people in the community together.

“Groundhog Day in Melbourne is extremely important,” he said. “It’s part of our culture. Melbourne is a split village and we have the west part of it, but it’s a whole community.”
“I knew Jack Galbraith, I remember him well, and JoAnn and Jack deserve so much credit for doing this year after year,” Mayhew continued. “I think there’s enough seriousness in municipal politics that sometimes it’s nice to attend something a little lighter, and I know the councillors and I appreciate this. We enjoy the company and hats off to everyone for putting this together.”

Though disappointed with Middlemiss Mike’s earlier proclamation, Mayhew said he wasn’t too disgruntled about six more weeks of winter.

“Winter has been kind to us, so I think we can tolerate 42 more days of winter chill,” he said, smiling.