There's a spend Florida that constructed a 12-foot-superior monument all through town to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would any individual wish to do that?
Well, to begin with, heroes are tough to search out on this put set up Florida - the Panhandle town of Wausau, household of beneath five hundred folks in the heart of Washington County about ten miles south of Chipley.
Why don't you the possum, an not likely hero to mention the minimum? Nobody else puts the possum over a pedestal. Why not Wausau?
Secondly, back in 1982, Wausau bought sick and drained with getting ignored while in the Florida lists of enjoyment, fairs and festivals. Each set set up Florida requires a festival. Instead of just one area in Florida carries a Possum Pageant. Why don't you Wausau?
If you haven't been to Washington County, you almost certainly will Feel I am Hence, earning this up. When you have been to Washington County, you can expect to understand - and know This is a real story.
Wausau, it turned out, experienced some really powerful possum politicians through the early '80s. Here are two factors they achieved:
They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the 1st Saturday in August as Possum Working day in Florida. That led for the developing in the monument together State Highway 77 in Wausau.
They even read more got America Congress to promote the possum. Congress joined the pleasurable by providing the funds for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau may need a spot to carry its annual Fun Day and Possum Pageant. Showcasing a queen contest and possum auction, among other things, the Pageant appeals to a lot of folks Each and every and annually, plus they like it.
Outing to get a couple educating of Northerners right here. The South's possum is similar lowly animal you connect with opossum, (Why use seven letters when six will do?) It's a smallish marsupial that lives in trees and displays its unattractive system only at nighttime. That is why, when you're in the ideal area in Florida, you are able to hear possum hunters' dogs baying and barking. Treed by pet dogs, the possum 'freezes', so It's going to be not complicated to trap (or shoot) one.
An inscription about the monument in the center of Wausau cites the possum's role in providing 'both fur and food items' in the full centuries. It goes on say: 'Their presence here has offered a source of nutritious and flavorful food items in normal occasions and possesses been A necessary enable to human survival during situations of distress and significant want.'
Snicker if you'd want. The men and women of Wausau will laugh along - even though downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.