February by the Numbers

100 Times Phil has seen his shadow since the tradition of Groundhog Day (Feb. 2) began in Punxsutawney, signaling six more weeks of winter. There were 17 times he did not see his shadow, cuing an early spring. Nine years during the late 1800s show no record of Phil's forecast.

17 Date Margaret Truman was born to Bess and future President Harry S. Truman in Independence, MO, in 1924.

22 Date in 1853 the Town of Kansas was incorporated by the state of Missouri as the City of Kansas.

3.2 Inches average snowfall in Kansas City in February.

100 million – Pounds of chocolates manufactured annually by Kansas City company Russell Stover, including their famous Valentine heart box assortments.

20 Pounds of food eaten daily by Berlin, the Kansas City Zoo’s resident polar bear, who is celebrated on Feb. 27, National Polar Bear Day.

43 Years the Crown Center Ice Terrace has been the place to skate in Kansas City.

39 million Meals delivered by Harvesters last year. February is Canned Food Month; visit Harvesters.org to learn how you can donate canned goods, times or money to help feed the hungry in our community.

4,543 Miles from Valrhona Chocolate in France to Christopher Elbow’s shop in Kansas City where the cocoa is used to make decadent sweets for Valentine’s Day.

22 Date in 1901 when Charles Evans Whittaker, who went on to become the first person from Kansas or Missouri to serve on the Supreme Court, was born on a farm near Troy, KS.

9 Date in 1920 when the City Council approved a plan to build Kansas City’s Liberty Memorial on the property south of Union Station. The Liberty Memorial Association envisioned a monument that would be among the world’s most spectacular memorials to World War I veterans.