There's a devote Florida that developed a 12-foot-high monument through city to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would anyone wish to accomplish that?
Perfectly, very first off, heroes consider time and effort to locate using this type of spend Florida - the Panhandle town of Wausau, residence of less than five hundred persons in the midst of Washington County about ten miles south of Chipley.
Why not the possum, an unlikely hero To place it mildly? Nobody else puts the possum on a pedestal. Why not Wausau?
Secondly, in 1982, Wausau bought Ill and exhausted with staying left out from your Florida lists of pleasurable, fairs and festivals. Just about every put in position Florida desires a Pageant. Rather than 1 commit Florida encompasses a Possum Competition. Why don't you Wausau?
If you have never been to Washington County, you almost certainly will Believe I'm making this up. For those who have attended Washington County, you can comprehend - and know that is a true story.
Wausau, it turned out, had some pretty strong possum politicians in early '80s. Allow me to share a pair of issues they accomplished:
They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the 1st Saturday in August as Possum Day in Florida. That led into the building while in the monument along State Highway seventy seven in Wausau.
They even received the United States Congress to advertise the possum. Congress joined the entertaining by furnishing the money for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau could have a location to hold its yearly Pleasurable Day and Possum Pageant. Featuring a queen contest and possum auction, amongst other factors, the Pageant attracts A huge number of men and women read more every year, in addition they like it.
Day out For most educating of Northerners listed here. The South's possum is identical lowly animal you contact opossum, (Why use seven letters when 6 will do?) It is a smallish marsupial that life in trees and exhibits its unattractive physique only in the evening. This is why, any time you end up inside of right dedicate Florida, you can listen to possum hunters' pet dogs baying and barking. Treed by pet dogs, the possum 'freezes', consequently it truly is not challenging to hook (or shoot) a single.
An inscription regarding the monument in the middle of Wausau cites the possum's job in giving 'the two fur and food' all over the generations. It goes to say: 'Their existence right here has furnished a resource of nutritious and flavorful foods in ordinary occasions and possesses been a major assist to human survival all through situations of distress and critical require.'
Chuckle If you need. The individuals of Wausau will chuckle along - though downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.