There's a devote Florida that crafted a 12-foot-high monument in the heart of town to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would anybody desire to accomplish that?
Nicely, to begin with, heroes are hard to return by on this commit Florida - the Panhandle city of Wausau, house of much less than five hundred individuals in the guts of Washington County about 10 miles south of Chipley.
Why not the possum, an not likely hero understandably? Nobody else puts the possum above a pedestal. Why don't you Wausau?
Secondly, back 1982, Wausau bought Unwell and Weary of being ignored from your Florida lists of exciting, fairs and festivals. Each and every commit Florida demands a festival. Rather than just one set in place Florida contains a Possum Competition. Why don't you Wausau?
If you have not been to Washington County, you most likely will Believe I am earning this up. If you have frequented Washington County, you can have an understanding of - and know it is a correct story.
Wausau, it proved, had some quite potent possum politicians in early '80s. Here i will discuss two points they accomplished:


They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the initial Saturday in August as Possum Day in Florida. That led into the making within the monument along Condition Freeway seventy seven in Wausau.

They even got the United States Congress to publicize the possum. Congress joined the enjoyable by giving the cash for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau could have a place to keep its annual Enjoyable Day and Possum Pageant. Featuring a queen contest and possum auction, amid other items, the Pageant draws in A lot of people on a yearly basis, and they also adore it.
Outing for a few educating of Northerners in this article. The South's possum is equivalent lowly animal you phone opossum, (Why use 7 letters when six will accomplish?) It is a smallish marsupial that lives in trees and reveals its unpleasant overall body only in the evening. This is why, when you're within correct location in Florida, you can hear possum hunters' canines baying and barking. Treed by canine, the possum 'freezes', so It really is not difficult to trap (or shoot) one particular.
An inscription across the monument all through Wausau cites get more info the possum's function in providing 'equally fur and meals' in the course of the complete generations. It goes to say: 'Their existence here has delivered a source of nutritious and flavorful food stuff in normal situations and it's been A vital help to human survival considerably more distress and significant will need.'
Giggle If you'd like. The folks of Wausau will chuckle alongside - even though downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.