A Place in Florida - Let's Cheer the Lowly Possum

There is a position in Florida that crafted a 12-foot-large monument in the course of town to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would any person might love to do that?
Effectively, 1st off, heroes are complicated to investigate within this put set up Florida - the Panhandle city of Wausau, house of a lot less than five hundred people in the center of Washington County about ten miles south of Chipley.
Why don't you the possum, an not likely hero as you'd probably expect? No person else puts the possum above a pedestal. Why not Wausau?
Next, final 1982, Wausau obtained fed up with being left out With all the Florida lists of fun, fairs and festivals. Every single place in position Florida wants a festival. And never one dedicate Florida encompasses a Possum Competition. Why not Wausau?
If you have not attended Washington County, you almost certainly will Assume I'm causeing this to be up. When you've got visited Washington County, you may fully grasp - and know it is a true Tale.
Wausau, it proved, experienced some rather highly effective possum politicians noisy . '80s. Allow me to share two points they attained:


They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the very first Saturday in August as Possum Day in Florida. That led to the making within the monument alongside Point out Freeway seventy seven in Wausau.

They even got America Congress to market the possum. read more Congress joined the entertaining by providing the cash for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau might have a place to hold its yearly Fun Working day and Possum Festival. Showcasing a queen contest and possum auction, between other things, the festival attracts lots of people annually, and so they adore it.
Day out for many educating of Northerners in this article. The South's possum is identical lowly animal you get in touch with opossum, (Why use 7 letters when six is going to do?) It is a smallish marsupial that lives in trees and shows its unappealing body only during the night time. That is why, once you end up inside the right set in place Florida, you may hear possum hunters' puppies baying and barking. Treed by pet dogs, the possum 'freezes', so It really is not tricky to hook (or shoot) 1.
An inscription with the monument throughout Wausau cites the possum's function in offering 'equally fur and food items' in the generations. It goes on to say: 'Their presence right here has supplied an origin of nutritious and flavorful food items in standard instances and has been An important help to human survival much more distress and significant want.'
Laugh if you'd desire. The men and women of Wausau will chuckle coupled with you - while downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.