To the Editor:
As a seventh-generation Pennsylvania Dutchman, I would like to express appreciation for the coverage given the local Grundsow Lodge observance of Groundhog Day. Yes indeed, it is tomfoolery and tongue-in-cheek weather prognostication, but also laughter, camaraderie and years of Pennsylvania Dutch tradition.
Pennsylvania Dutch contributions to the past and present have been impressive, but mostly forgotten. Where are we headed in this fast melting pot of America? Our area is changing in many ways. We're no longer quaint or colorful as in the "olden days," but then neither are our neighbors.
So, once a year, on Candlemas, the meal is waiting on the table and the diminishing dialect is spoken as we laugh, sing and "eat ourselves full" of our Dutch tradition and heritage to fortify and assure us for the upcoming year.
PETER V. FRITSCH