There's a commit Florida that created a twelve-foot-substantial monument in the course of city to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would any individual ought to do that?
Perfectly, 1st off, heroes are hard to discover inside this devote Florida - the Panhandle city of Wausau, household of fewer than five hundred persons in the course of Washington County about ten miles south of Chipley.
Why not the possum, an not likely hero as you'll count on? No person else puts the possum within the pedestal. Why don't you Wausau?
Next, in 1982, Wausau bought fed up with being neglected in the Florida lists of pleasurable, fairs and festivals. Every spot in Florida needs a festival. Instead of 1 spend Florida features a Possum Pageant. Why not Wausau?
If you have not been to Washington County, you almost certainly will Consider I am As a result, creating this up. For those who have gone to Washington County, you can expect to recognize - and know this can be a true story.
Wausau, it turned out, experienced some really potent possum politicians in the early '80s. Listed here are two or three things they accomplished:
They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the initial Saturday in August as Possum Working day in Florida. That check here led on the constructing within the monument together State Highway seventy seven in Wausau.
They even acquired the United States Congress to current market the possum. Congress joined the enjoyable by providing the resources for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau could possibly have a place to hold its annual Entertaining Day and Possum Festival. Featuring a queen contest and possum auction, amongst other factors, the Pageant draws in Countless people today per year, they usually adore it.
Trip for lots of educating of Northerners here. The South's possum is equivalent lowly animal you simply call opossum, (Why use 7 letters when 6 can do?) It's a smallish marsupial that life in trees and exhibits its hideous body only at nighttime. This is exactly why, any time you end up during the proper devote Florida, you can listen to possum hunters' puppies baying and barking. Treed by puppies, the possum 'freezes', so it is easy to hook (or shoot) 1.
An inscription on the monument in the middle of Wausau cites the possum's job in supplying 'both equally fur and foodstuff' from the full centuries. It goes to say: 'Their existence below has furnished a resource of nutritious and flavorful meals in regular occasions and consists of been an important enable to human survival when in distress and demanding have to have.'
Giggle in the event you'd want. The folks of Wausau will snicker along with you - though downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.