It’s That Time of Year--the Old Farmer’s Almanac Is Back Once More

As sure as the leaves change colors every autumn, the Old Farmer’s Almanac, with its familiar yellow cover, appears on the newsstands.

The small book of homey advice, information and weather predictions made its first appearance in 1792, the year the cornerstone of the White House was laid. Robert B. Thomas was the editor and remained so for 52 years. Today’s Almanac is still published under his name.

That’s a tradition, Almanac Editor Judson Hale said, and “tradition is one of the main elements of this book.”

And tradition is one reason Hale believes that so many people--more than 4 million last year--buy the Almanac, which is put together each year in Dublin, N.H.

‘Buy for Different Reasons’

“People buy for different reasons--the recipes, to be amused, to get the most accessible information on astronomy,” the tall, bespectacled Hale said, “for decoration, for stocking-stuffers, because their great-grandfather bought it, because their grandmother always had it in the house. Some buy it in cities because it’s the only way they can see the sky.

“I think that in a changing world where nothing stays the same, people appreciate something that shows up every fall. They can count on it.”

Tradition.

The Almanac’s weather predictions, for example, are claimed to be 80% accurate. Not 79%, not 81%--80%.

“It goes back to 1792,” Hale, 53, said. “Robert B. Thomas always claimed 80%. I think probably almanac makers in 5,000 BC on clay tablets claimed 80% accuracy.

“It’s an Almanac tradition and I would never want to break that.

“I do believe in Nature’s signs. I think Nature prepares her own. She sends the birds south before it gets cold, puts longer hair on the horses. It could be 90 degrees out and she puts longer hair on them. In away, that’s a prediction of what’s to come.”

The Almanac still depends on a “secret formula” devised by founder Thomas and based on weather cycles.

At a dinner in 1969, Hale’s uncle, Robb Sagendorph, discussed these cycles with Dr. Richard Head, then chief scientist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Head believed that the cycles were related to the sun’s cycles of activity.

“The long and the short of it was that Dr. Head resigned NASA and joined the Old Farmer’s Almanac and has been with us ever since,” said Hale, who also edits the respected Yankee magazine.

Sagendorph, who began Yankee in 1935, took over the Almanac from Little Brown & Co., which had the license, in 1939. The Almanac has been in the hands of only three families in its 195 years.

The magazine got a boost in recognition in 1943.

“A German agent landed on Long Island with a copy of the Almanac in his pocket and was arrested by the FBI, so the government banned it from the newsstands. This created a lot of hoopla and a lot of fun,” Hale said, grinning. “They (the government) felt that the Germans were using it to see what the weather was going to be like over here.”

Sagendorph argued with the powers in Washington, and the Almanac was back on the stands the following year.

That is by no means the Almanac’s only brush with history.

In 1857, a lawyer by the name of Abraham Lincoln was defending a man named Armstrong.

“Lincoln’s client was accused of shooting a man with a slingshot by the light of the moon on Aug. 29, 1857,” Hale recounted. “During the trial, Lincoln went to Aug. 29 (in the Almanac), and it says, ‘Moon runs low,’ which means there wasn’t much light. He showed that to the jury, and the man was acquitted.”

A popular feature of the Almanac is its calendar, which notes the tides and when the moon and sun rise and set. The word almanac means “calendar of heavens.”

Along the side of each right-hand page, the calendar includes notations marking holidays, new and full moons and the like. The Old Farmer’s Almanac gardening calendar published its ninth edition for 1986.

The notations on the calendar page for the month that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated drew a lot of attention after the fact.

A man named Ben Rice wrote the page, Hale said.

‘Night Is Coming On’

“He (Rice) had over that month--November, 1963--’Two full moons this month, guard against crime.’ Then he went down to the 22nd and he wrote, ‘Night is coming on, murder perhaps.’ ”

Hale said that Rice was not making a prediction, “just writing what he felt about two moons.”

Apart from the forecasts, there are the recipes; there are articles on gardening, fishing and various topics such as America’s food capitals. And there is astrological information--”Our readers almost demand that”--and the ads.

“We have wonderful ads,” Hale said, looking at one that promised a tree that would be “roof high in just one year.”

“Must be a very small house,” he said, laughing.

Why would such an ad appear in the trusted Almanac?

“They’re a tradition,” Hale said. “We refuse what we consider harmful. We refused cigarettes, alcohol. There’s snuff in here. That went by us; we should have refused it.”

Hale said of the tree ad and other exaggerations, “It may be in bad taste but it’s not harmful.