Will the mayor predict more winter?

By Tracy Farr
Editor, The Daily Spittoon

Every 17th day of January -- better known to locals as Mayor's Day -- the mayor of Stinky Creek pokes his head out of his house and either predicts two more months of winter, or not.  With the weather being so wishy-washy this year, Stinky Creekians are starting to wonder what he'll say this coming Thursday.

"I cannot remember a time when it has been this warm in January," said Stinky Creek resident Norm Kordell.  "I have a feeling the mayor's going to predict that's it time for us to sell our coats and buy more shorts."

The annual announcement by the acting mayor is largely a ceremonial one that dates back to the winter of 1847.  On January 17 of that year, fistfights broke out throughout the town because people disagreed on how to describe the coldness of the weather.  What was “chilly” to one person was “frigid” to another.  To stop the senseless violence, Mayor Dub Williams declared the weather “down right cold” and told everybody to go home, drink something warm and put another log on the fire.

Every year since then, crowds have gathered at the mayor's house on the 17th to hear the official verdict on how to describe the weather.

"It's a tradition that I have been a party to for 16 years," said Crappie County Fire Chief Harry McSpray.  "It's one of the things that makes this city great -- or at least different.  I have no idea what he'll predict, but that never stops me from observing the day."

The one person who might be in the know about the weather is our own weatherman, Allen Peever of KSTK Channel 9.

"We've already experienced several dry cold fronts come through, but our temperatures have been well above normal for this time of year," Peever said.  "We're expecting temperatures to fall this week and a bit of rain on Wednesday, but there's really no telling what the weather will be like on Thursday.  I guess we'll have to wait and see what the mayor says."