Six Veeks of Vinter

If I cross Groundhog Day with railroading and view the result through a fuzzy Minneapolis filter, I see this:

For Minnesota kids, Casey Jones was a friendly TV host, named after a legendary railroad engineer.

One of the most beloved figures in local television was a man who portrayed a railroad engineer, dressed in a pin-striped jacket, cap and overalls, with a red 'kerchief around his neck, and called himself "your old buddy, Casey Jones."

From 1954 until the end of 1972, Roger Awsumb appeared live as Casey Jones from one to three times daily on WTCN-TV, Channel 11. He entertained youngsters with cartoons, silly comedy bits, songs, live commercials, birthday greetings, and banter with sidekicks Joe the Cook (Chris Wedes) and later, Roundhouse Rodney (Lynn Dwyer). In their prime, the Casey Jones programs, especially his noontime Lunch With Casey, were the most popular children's shows, not only in the Twin Cities but throughout Minnesota and surrounding states where WTCN was available over cable systems.

Let the Punxsutawney people strut in their top hats. Where winter is really winter, we dance around in red union suits. I don’t know if we’ll have six more weeks of winter, but that song might stick in your head until springtime.