There's a dedicate Florida that designed a twelve-foot-higher monument in the midst of town to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would anyone desire to do that?
Properly, to start with, heroes are tricky to come by with this particular dedicate Florida - the Panhandle town of Wausau, residence of fewer than 500 persons in the guts of Washington County about ten miles south of Chipley.
Why not the possum, an unlikely hero To place it mildly? Nobody else places the possum on the pedestal. Why not Wausau?
Next, again 1982, Wausau obtained Weary of currently being omitted With all the Florida lists of enjoyable, fairs and festivals. Every place set up Florida wants a Competition. And not one particular commit Florida includes a Possum Festival. Why not Wausau?
If you have not absent to Washington County, you most likely will Believe I am making this up. If you have been to Washington County, you may understand - and know this is the real story.
Wausau, it proved, experienced some fairly powerful possum politicians noisy . '80s. Listed below are a few points they accomplished:
They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the very initial Saturday in August as Possum Working day in Florida. That led to your building from the monument along Point out Highway seventy seven in Wausau.
They even got America Congress to advertise the possum. Congress joined the enjoyment by furnishing the money for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau could have a location to hold its yearly Pleasurable Working day and Possum Festival. Featuring a queen contest and possum auction, among other factors, the Pageant attracts tons of people per year, in addition they love it.
Outing for a lot of educating of Northerners in check here this article. The South's possum is similar lowly animal you contact opossum, (Why use seven letters when six will do?) It is a smallish marsupial that lives in trees and displays its unattractive physique only at nighttime. This is exactly why, when you're In the correct spend Florida, it is possible to listen to possum hunters' puppies baying and barking. Treed by canines, the possum 'freezes', so It really is simple more than enough to hook (or shoot) one.
An inscription around the monument in the guts of Wausau cites the possum's purpose in furnishing 'both fur and food' in the generations. It goes onto say: 'Their existence right here has provided an origin of nutritious and flavorful food items in typical times and has been A necessary support to human survival throughout times of distress and demanding will need.'
Chortle if you want. The people today of Wausau will snicker together with you - although downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.