Southern Agenda

Marsupial Madness

An illustration of a possum in a barrel

Illustration: Tim Bower


On Groundhog Day, Southerners looking for a harbinger of spring need not rely on Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil. In Northeast Alabama, his scruffy-haired kindred spirit Sand Mountain Sam, a prognosticating possum who pops out of a whiskey barrel in search of his shadow, has been on the job since 1993. In 2022, Bama Bucks restaurant and exotic animal park in Sardis City became Sam’s home, and bluegrass bands, buck dancers, and spoon players joined the lineup. But the tradition almost ended up roadkill: Authorities were cracking down on illegal possum possession. Armed with the necessary licenses, Bama Bucks’s owner, Terry Turk, rushed to adopt one from a breeder (yes, possum breeders exist). In 2024, almost a thousand folks witnessed the new Sam’s forecast, requiring the event’s move to a bigger facility in Boaz. And with February 2 falling on a Sunday this year, Sam’s prediction has been moved up to January 31. “Its hillbilly flavor speaks to who we are in a fun way,” Turk says. “We’re out there cheering a possum. What’s more fun than that?”

sandmountainbroadcasting.com