A spot in Florida - Let's Cheer the Lowly Possum
A spot in Florida - Let's Cheer the Lowly Possum
Blog Article
There's a place in position Florida that constructed a twelve-foot-superior monument in the center of city to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would any individual need to do that?
Nicely, to begin with, heroes are hard to investigation with this particular area in Florida - the Panhandle city of Wausau, home of fewer than five hundred people in the midst of Washington County about 10 miles south of Chipley.
Why don't you the possum, an unlikely hero as you would expect? No one else places the possum within the pedestal. Why don't you Wausau?
Secondly, in 1982, Wausau obtained fed up with getting ignored from the Florida lists of exciting, fairs and festivals. Just about every place in Florida wishes a Pageant. Rather than one particular commit Florida features a Possum Festival. Why not Wausau?
If you've never attended Washington County, you probably will think I'm creating this up. Should you have visited Washington County, you are going to understand - and know This may be a genuine Tale.
Wausau, it turned out, experienced some pretty strong possum politicians noisy . '80s. Here are a set of matters they completed:
They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the main Saturday in August as Possum Working day in Florida. That led to your creating While using the monument together Point out Highway 77 in Wausau.
They even obtained The usa Congress to advertise the possum. Congress joined the enjoyable by the funds for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau might need an area to carry its yearly Pleasurable Working day and Possum Pageant. Showcasing a queen contest and possum auction, among the other items, the festival draws in Lots of individuals yearly, moreover they discover it irresistible.
Time out for some educating of Northerners here. The South's possum is similar lowly animal you connect with opossum, (Why use seven letters when six will perform?) It is a smallish marsupial that life in trees and exhibits its unpleasant human body only at nighttime. That's why, when you are in the suitable devote Florida, you may hear possum hunters' canines baying and barking. Treed by dogs, the possum 'freezes', so It'll be quick to catch (or shoot) one particular.
An inscription within the monument in the middle of Wausau cites the possum's position in furnishing 'each fur and foods' with the complete generations. It goes to say: 'Their presence in this article has provided a source of nutritious and flavorful food items in standard instances and is made up of been a substantial help to human survival when in distress and demanding need.'
Chortle in case you'd prefer. The persons of more info Wausau will laugh along with you - while downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.