An area in Florida - Let's Cheer the Lowly Possum
An area in Florida - Let's Cheer the Lowly Possum
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There's a devote Florida that created a 12-foot-significant monument in the midst of town to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would any person desire to do that?
Well, to begin with, heroes are hard to locate inside this position in Florida - the Panhandle metropolis of Wausau, house of lower than five hundred folks in the middle of Washington County about 10 miles south of Chipley.
Why don't you the possum, an unlikely hero as you would probably expect? Nobody else places the possum which has a pedestal. Why not Wausau?
Secondly, back 1982, Wausau got fed up with being disregarded of your Florida lists of enjoyable, fairs and festivals. Every spend Florida desires a Competition. Rather than a person put in place Florida includes a Possum Festival. Why don't you Wausau?
If you haven't long gone to Washington County, you almost certainly will think I am generating this up. If you have absent to Washington County, you'll comprehend - and know This may be a real Tale.
Wausau, it ended up, experienced some very powerful possum politicians inside the early '80s. Listed here are a set of factors they attained:
They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the primary Saturday in August as Possum Working day in Florida. That led to the constructing Using the monument together Point out Highway seventy seven in Wausau.
They even received The usa Congress to market the possum. Congress joined the fun by offering the funds for get more info Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau would've a location to carry its annual Fun Working day and Possum Pageant. Featuring a queen contest and possum auction, among other issues, the Competition draws in Lots of people annually, and in order that they locate it irresistible.
Trip for a few educating of Northerners listed here. The South's possum is identical lowly animal you simply call opossum, (Why use 7 letters when 6 can do?) It is a smallish marsupial that lives in trees and exhibits its unattractive entire body only during the night time. That's why, if you find yourself while in the suitable put in Florida, you can listen to possum hunters' pet dogs baying and barking. Treed by pet dogs, the possum 'freezes', therefore it is not so difficult seize (or shoot) a single.
An inscription with the monument in the center of Wausau cites the possum's position in supplying 'both fur and foods' through the generations. It goes on to say: 'Their presence here has delivered a resource of nutritious and flavorful foods in usual times and has been an important assist to human survival in instances of distress and significant need.'
Chuckle if you like. The folks of Wausau will giggle with you - even though downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.