MILLTOWN, N.J. – Another Groundhog Day approaches in Milltown.But it’s Groundhog Day in another sense, in that the town will wake up on February 2nd and again won’t be celebrating its beloved tradition. More Local News Since the passing of Milltown Mel in 2021, the small town has been searching for its successor. A State law on importing certain critters has kept them from continuing their ceremony, which draws th...
MILLTOWN, N.J. – Another Groundhog Day approaches in Milltown.
But it’s Groundhog Day in another sense, in that the town will wake up on February 2nd and again won’t be celebrating its beloved tradition.
Since the passing of Milltown Mel in 2021, the small town has been searching for its successor. A State law on importing certain critters has kept them from continuing their ceremony, which draws thousands. The Milltown Wranglers, who organize the event, announced this week that despite their best efforts, they have not yet found their next Mel.
“I feel like the more you lose those things, the more it kind of impacts this town,” said Kelsey Hershorn, who works at Francesco’s Pizza in Milltown.
“It’s hard to explain how frustrating it is to try to follow the rules and not be able to get something done, even though you work really hard at it,” said Milltown Wrangler Russ Einbinder, “and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
The Wranglers have tried to bring in groundhogs in every legal avenue, even pleading their case in Trenton.
“I mean, we actually testified in front of the State legislature,” said Einbinder.
Last year, Assemblyman Sterley Stanley introduced a bill to allow groundhogs to be imported from out of state under certain circumstances. The State currently outlaws certain types of animals that could potentially carry rabies.
He told PIX11 News in a statement:
“Though we are disappointed that we were unable to come up with a solution that would have brought a new groundhog to Milltown for this year’s celebration, we remain committed to procuring a new groundhog in time for next year’s Groundhog Day. While we certainly lament the cancellation of yet another Groundhog Day here in Milltown, we understand that in order to respect public health and safety, this will take a little more time than originally expected. We are currently in the process of reaching out to a few zoos throughout the State to see if they would be able to allow the Milltown wranglers to use one of the groundhogs kept at their zoo for their celebration. We sincerely appreciate the public’s interest in this issue and their support for the community of Milltown, we hope to have some good news soon.”
This will mark the fifth year in a row the streets of Milltown will be quiet on Groundhog Day, but the Milltown Wranglers say they’re as determined as ever to find their next groundhog.
“We’ll make it happen,” said Einbinder. “Just, we have to be patient.”