There is a devote Florida that designed a twelve-foot-superior monument in the center of town to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would any one need to do that?
Properly, to begin with, heroes are tough to exploration With this place in Florida - the Panhandle city of Wausau, house of less than five hundred folks in the midst of Washington County about ten miles south of Chipley.
Why not the possum, an not likely hero to mention the the very least? Nobody else puts the possum on a pedestal. Why don't you Wausau?
Next, final 1982, Wausau bought Bored with becoming neglected in the Florida lists of pleasurable, fairs and festivals. Just about every dedicate Florida demands a Pageant. And not one particular commit Florida incorporates a Possum Competition. Why not Wausau?
If you haven't attended Washington County, you most likely will Assume I'm So, building this up. If you have attended Washington County, you may recognize - and know it is a real Tale.
Wausau, it proved, had some fairly powerful possum politicians in the early '80s. Here's a few points they completed:


They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the very first Saturday in August as Possum Day in Florida. That led to the developing in the monument along Condition Freeway 77 in Wausau.

They even bought America Congress to market the possum. Congress joined the entertaining by giving the resources for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau might have a spot to hold its yearly Exciting Working day and Possum Festival. That includes a queen contest and possum auction, among the other factors, the festival draws in loads of individuals Every and each year, additionally they adore it.
Day out for a lot of educating of Northerners below. The South's possum is equivalent lowly animal you phone opossum, (Why use seven letters when 6 can perform?) It's a smallish marsupial that life in trees and reveals its unpleasant body only at nighttime. This is why, when you're in the proper set set up Florida, you can listen to possum hunters' canines baying and barking. Treed by canine, the possum 'freezes', so It truly is not so difficult to hook (or shoot) a person.
An inscription within the monument in the guts of Wausau cites the possum's role in giving 'each fur and foods' through the entire generations. It goes on say: 'Their presence right here has supplied a useful resource of nutritious and flavorful food items in usual periods and possesses been A vital help to human survival in periods of distress and critical need to have.'
Snicker when you'd choose. The people today of Wausau will read more snicker along - even though downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.