A spot in Florida - Let's Cheer the Lowly Possum
A spot in Florida - Let's Cheer the Lowly Possum
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There's a position in Florida that constructed a 12-foot-superior monument in the guts of city to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would anyone desire to perform that?
Effectively, to start out, heroes get effort and time to investigation During this area in Florida - the Panhandle town of Wausau, house of much less than 500 folks in the course of Washington County about 10 miles south of Chipley.
Why don't you the possum, an unlikely hero as you would be expecting? No one else places the possum on the pedestal. Why don't you Wausau?
Secondly, in 1982, Wausau got fed up with currently being disregarded in the Florida lists of entertaining, fairs and festivals. Each place in Florida desires a Pageant. Instead of just one devote Florida includes a Possum Pageant. Why don't you Wausau?
If you've hardly ever visited Washington County, you almost certainly will Consider I am producing this up. Should you have attended Washington County, you can comprehend - and know It's really a correct story.
Wausau, it turned out, experienced some fairly effective possum politicians noisy . '80s. Listed below are a pair of items they accomplished:
They persuaded the Florida Legislature to website proclaim the extremely initial Saturday in August as Possum Day in Florida. That led to the building inside the monument together State Highway seventy seven in Wausau.
They even got The usa Congress to market the possum. Congress joined the exciting by providing the money for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau can have a place to keep its yearly Exciting Day and Possum Festival. Showcasing a queen contest and possum auction, among the other things, the Competition draws in Many of us on a yearly basis, and they also like it.
Time out for just a number of educating of Northerners below. The South's possum is identical lowly animal you get in touch with opossum, (Why use seven letters when six will almost certainly do?) It's a smallish marsupial that life in trees and exhibits its unattractive body only during the night. That is why, when you end up inside right place in Florida, you may hear possum hunters' pet dogs baying and barking. Treed by canine, the possum 'freezes', for that reason it really is not so difficult capture (or shoot) just one.
An inscription with the monument in the middle of Wausau cites the possum's job in supplying 'equally fur and food stuff' throughout the centuries. It goes on to say: 'Their presence right here has offered a source of nutritious and flavorful food in ordinary situations and it's got been A vital help to human survival when in distress and critical have to have.'
Chuckle if you want. The people of Wausau will giggle along with you - although downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.