There is a place in Florida that designed a twelve-foot-large monument in the center of town to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would any one desire to perform that?
Effectively, to start with, heroes are difficult to come back by with this spend Florida - the Panhandle money of scotland- Wausau, home of much less than five hundred individuals in the center of Washington County about 10 miles south of Chipley.
Why don't you the possum, an unlikely hero to state the least? No person else puts the possum on the pedestal. Why don't you Wausau?
Secondly, very last 1982, Wausau bought fed up with remaining disregarded during the Florida lists of entertaining, fairs and festivals. Just about every place in position Florida needs a Pageant. And never 1 commit Florida includes a Possum Pageant. Why don't you Wausau?
If you have not visited Washington County, you probably will Imagine I am earning this up. In case you have been to Washington County, you can expect to comprehend - and know this is the legitimate story.
Wausau, it turned out, had some fairly powerful possum politicians in early '80s. Allow me to share two factors they attained:


They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the very 1st Saturday website in August as Possum Day in Florida. That led to your developing within the monument alongside Condition Freeway seventy seven in Wausau.

They even bought the United States Congress to promote the possum. Congress joined the exciting by the money for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau could have a spot to assistance its annual Fun Working day and Possum Pageant. That includes a queen contest and possum auction, amongst other issues, the Competition appeals to heaps of individuals Each individual and annually, and they like it.
Day trip for the few educating of Northerners right here. The South's possum is similar lowly animal you phone opossum, (Why use 7 letters when 6 will do?) It is a smallish marsupial that lives in trees and exhibits its unattractive body only at nighttime. This is exactly why, when you're inside the correct put in place Florida, you are able to hear possum hunters' dogs baying and barking. Treed by pet dogs, the possum 'freezes', so It will likely be not challenging to capture (or shoot) a single.
An inscription across the monument through Wausau cites the possum's purpose in giving 'each fur and food stuff' from the whole generations. It goes to say: 'Their presence listed here has provided an origin of nutritious and flavorful food stuff in typical periods and includes been a crucial guide to human survival in the course of periods of distress and critical require.'
Chuckle if you like. The men and women of Wausau will giggle together - when downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.