A Place in Florida - Let's Cheer the Lowly Possum
A Place in Florida - Let's Cheer the Lowly Possum
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There is a spend Florida that crafted a 12-foot-substantial monument in the course of town to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would anyone desire to do that?
Very well, to begin with, heroes acquire time and effort to come by on this location in Florida - the Panhandle metropolis of Wausau, residence of less than 500 folks in the guts of Washington County about 10 miles south of Chipley.
Why don't you the possum, an unlikely hero to convey the least? Nobody else puts the possum having a pedestal. Why don't you Wausau?
Secondly, back again 1982, Wausau acquired Unwell and exhausted with currently being ignored while in the Florida lists of pleasurable, fairs and festivals. Just about every location in Florida wishes a festival. And not 1 spot in Florida features a Possum Competition. Why not Wausau?
If you haven't absent to Washington County, you probably will Believe I am Therefore, creating this up. If you have been to Washington County, you will understand - and know this can be a real story.
Wausau, it proved, had some rather effective possum politicians from the early '80s. Here's certain things they achieved:
They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the extremely to start with Saturday in August as Possum Working day in Florida. That led check here towards the building from the monument together Point out Freeway seventy seven in Wausau.
They even bought America Congress to market the possum. Congress joined the enjoyment by offering the cash for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau would have a place to hold its once-a-year Exciting Working day and Possum Festival. That includes a queen contest and possum auction, amongst other things, the festival attracts Lots of individuals yearly, and they also like it.
Day out for many educating of Northerners right here. The South's possum is similar lowly animal you connect with opossum, (Why use seven letters when six will accomplish?) It's a smallish marsupial that lives in trees and shows its unappealing overall body only at nighttime. This is why, In case you are within the ideal location in Florida, you could listen to possum hunters' canine baying and barking. Treed by puppies, the possum 'freezes', so Will probably be not so complicated to hook (or shoot) 1.
An inscription about the monument during Wausau cites the possum's function in providing 'each fur and food' throughout the complete hundreds of years. It goes onto say: 'Their presence below has offered a resource of nutritious and flavorful food items in regular instances and possesses been An important guide to human survival much more distress and critical require.'
Laugh if you'd like. The folks of Wausau will giggle in conjunction with you - although downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.