There is a set in place Florida that created a twelve-foot-substantial monument through town to exalt the lowly possum. Now, why would anyone wish to accomplish that?
Well, to begin, heroes choose effort and time to investigation on this area in Florida - the Panhandle city of Wausau, home of a lot less than five hundred individuals in the center of Washington County about 10 miles south of Chipley.
Why don't you the possum, an unlikely hero as you'll anticipate? No person else places the possum having a pedestal. Why not Wausau?
Secondly, again 1982, Wausau obtained Ill and tired of becoming omitted from the Florida lists of pleasurable, fairs and festivals. Each and every devote Florida wants a festival. And not a single dedicate Florida contains a Possum Competition. Why don't you Wausau?
If you have never ever been to Washington County, you almost certainly will Imagine I am building this up. If you have attended Washington County, you are going to realize - and know This may be a genuine story.
Wausau, it proved, experienced some really impressive possum politicians over the early '80s. Allow me to share a pair of things they completed:


They persuaded the Florida Legislature to proclaim the Original Saturday in August as Possum Working day in Florida. That led to your creating during the monument together Point out Freeway 77 in Wausau.

They even received the United States Congress to industry the possum. here Congress joined the pleasurable by furnishing the money for Wausau's Possum Palace so Wausau may have an area to maintain its yearly Pleasurable Day and Possum Competition. That includes a queen contest and possum auction, among the other issues, the Competition draws in many people every year, and so they adore it.
Day out For several educating of Northerners listed here. The South's possum could be the identical lowly animal you phone opossum, (Why use 7 letters when 6 is going to do?) It is a smallish marsupial that life in trees and exhibits its hideous body only during the night time. That's why, when you're inside the ideal place in place Florida, you could listen to possum hunters' canines baying and barking. Treed by canine, the possum 'freezes', so It's going to be quick to entice (or shoot) 1.
An inscription within the monument in the guts of Wausau cites the possum's function in furnishing 'both fur and food stuff' with the hundreds of years. It goes on say: 'Their existence below has delivered a resource of nutritious and flavorful foodstuff in regular instances and has been an important enable to human survival in moments of distress and significant have to have.'
Snicker if you're keen on. The people of Wausau will laugh in conjunction with you - though downing baked possum and sweet potatoes.