There's a devote Florida that crafted a twelve-foot-substantial monument through city to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would any one desire to accomplish that?
Properly, to begin with, heroes are tough to acquire With this location in Florida - the Panhandle city of Wausau, residence of lower than 500 people in the middle of Washington County about ten miles south of Chipley.
Why not the possum, an unlikely hero as you should hope? No person else puts the possum on the pedestal. Why not Wausau?
Secondly, again in 1982, Wausau obtained Unwell and Uninterested in staying left out from the Florida lists of enjoyable, fairs and festivals. Each and every place in Florida wants a Competition. Rather than just one devote Florida carries a Possum Competition. Why not Wausau?
If you have by no means been to Washington County, you almost certainly will Assume I am generating this up. When you have absent to Washington County, you'll recognize - and know this is the correct story.
Wausau, it ended up, had some quite highly effective possum politicians through the early '80s. Listed below are certain things they accomplished:
They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the Original Saturday in August as Possum Day in Florida. That led for the developing Using the monument alongside Point out Highway 77 in Wausau.
They even got The usa Congress to promote the possum. Congress joined the entertaining by providing the resources for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau might need a place to hold its annual Entertaining Day and Possum Festival. Featuring a queen contest and possum auction, among other issues, the festival appeals to A large number of men and women each year, and in order that they adore it.
Time out For a lot of educating of Northerners in this article. The South's possum will be the similar lowly animal you call opossum, (Why use seven letters when six will probably do?) It is a smallish marsupial that life in trees and shows its hideous system only during the night. That is why, If you're inside the ideal set in position Florida, it is possible to hear possum hunters' canine baying and barking. Treed by canine, the possum 'freezes', so Will probably be quick to trap (or shoot) a person.
An inscription for that monument in the course of Wausau cites the possum's job in supplying 'both equally fur and food' from the hundreds of years. It goes onto say: 'Their existence in this article has provided a source of nutritious and flavorful food items in usual periods and it's got website been an important aid to human survival in occasions of distress and critical need to have.'
Laugh if you prefer. The people today of Wausau will chuckle along with you - though downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.