There's a dedicate Florida that designed a twelve-foot-higher monument in the course of city to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would anybody may possibly like to do that?
Nicely, to get started with, heroes are challenging to acquire with this put set up Florida - the Panhandle capital of scotland - Wausau, dwelling of lower than 500 persons in the center of Washington County about ten miles south of Chipley.
Why not the possum, an unlikely hero to put it mildly? No one else places the possum above a pedestal. Why not Wausau?
Secondly, in 1982, Wausau received fed up with currently being overlooked from your Florida lists of fun, fairs and festivals. Each and every spot in Florida wishes a Competition. Rather than a person spend Florida includes a Possum Competition. Why not Wausau?
If you've got by no means attended Washington County, you almost certainly will Consider I am creating this up. If you have visited Washington County, you can recognize - and know this can be a genuine Tale.
Wausau, it wound up, experienced some pretty effective possum politicians from the early '80s. Allow me to share some things they completed:


They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the incredibly initially Saturday in August as Possum Day in Florida. That led towards the constructing with the monument alongside Point out Highway seventy seven in Wausau.

They even acquired the United States Congress to sector the possum. Congress joined the pleasurable by delivering the money for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau could have a place to maintain its annual Enjoyable Day and Possum Festival. That includes a queen contest and possum auction, among other matters, the Competition draws in A lot of people every year, and In addition they like it.
Day trip For numerous educating of Northerners right here. The South's possum may be the similar lowly animal you contact opossum, (Why use seven letters click here when six will do?) It is a smallish marsupial that lives in trees and displays its unappealing entire body only at night. That's why, if you find yourself Within the suitable put set up Florida, you could hear possum hunters' dogs baying and barking. Treed by pet dogs, the possum 'freezes', so it's not tough to catch (or shoot) a person.
An inscription within the monument through Wausau cites the possum's role in offering 'both equally fur and food' throughout the total hundreds of years. It goes on say: 'Their existence in this article has delivered an origin of nutritious and flavorful meals in regular times and possesses been an important assist to human survival in the course of times of distress and significant need.'
Chortle in the event you'd want. The folks of Wausau will chortle together with you - when downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.