Here's a fun historic Thanksgiving story you may not have heard before. In
November 1926 President Calvin Coolidge was sent a live raccoon from Vinnie Joyce
of Nitta Yuma, Mississippi. It was sent to the White House to be slaughtered and
served up for that year's Thanksgiving dinner. President Calvin Coolidge, however,
became smitten by the beast and instead granted it a pardon.
While raccoon might seem an odd menu choice to grace the White House dinner table
these days, the Washington Evening Star back then thought the strange part was that
the president didn't want to chow down on the woodland critter. Declaring raccoon
meat less fatty than possum and likening it to chicken, albeit one crossed with a
suckling pig.
The news was hardly surprising to the American public back in 1926, however, as the
president and First Lady Grace Coolidge were known to be such lovers of animals
that people often sent them unsolicited pets.
'We always had more dogs than we could take care of,' Coolidge wrote in his
autobiography as he reflected on his White House years. While the canines, cats
and canaries sent to the president were on the normal side, Coolidge also received
a black-haired bear from Mexico, an African pygmy hippopotamus from rubber magnate
Harvey Firestone and even a pair of live lion cubs, which the fiscally conservative
president named them 'Tax Reduction' and 'Budget Bureau.'
Here's The Story Of Their White House Raccoon. Enjoy! :)
Naming their new addition, Rebecca, she became a favorite pet of President
Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace. The little rambunctious sweetie became
an integral part of the White House.
The Coolidge's were attached to her and doted on her. Every day, she roamed
The White House halls with zero restriction, unscrewing lightbulbs and dumping
plants out of their pots. She ripped up clothing and clawed on the upholstery.
The White House staff thought the raccoon was a 'regular Houdini' given her
abilities to wriggle free from harnesses and break out of makeshift cages by
gnawing away at the wooden bars, leading to wild chases through the president's
home.
The Coolidges mostly took care of this problem by building a wooden house for Rebecca
in the boughs of a tree on the White House's South Lawn outside the window of
the president's office.
As much as President Coolidge loved Rebecca (he was known to walk around the White
House with her draped around his neck), First Lady Grace Coolidge took even more
pleasure in pampering the raccoon.
'She was a mischievous, inquisitive party, and we had to keep watch of her when
she was in the house.' wrote the First Lady, Grace, 'She enjoyed nothing better
than being placed in a bathtub with a little water in it and given a cake of
soap with which to play. In this fashion, she would amuse herself for an hour
or more.'
On Christmas, she was given an embroidered collar designating her the official
'White House Raccoon,' and she even helped out at the annual White House Easter
egg roll.
The Coolidges liked their new friend so much that they decided to pick up a second
raccoon, a male named Rueben, to keep Rebecca company. Unfortunately, Rueben escaped
constantly, scaling trees and running around Pennsylvania Avenue, where traffic had
to be stopped until he could be retrieved. It wasn't long before Rueben escaped
the grounds forever and disappeared without a trace.
Rebecca, in the meantime, continued her ornery ways and it was clear that she wasn't
going to be allowed to stay in the White House or the Executive Mansion any longer.
By the end of Coolidge's presidency, Rebecca, in 1929, was donated to the
zoological quarters of Washington's Rock Creek Park, now known as the National Zoo.
She seemed to have adjusted to it quite well living a life happily ever after
there.
For those of you who Want More FUN - Visit The Shangy Fun List! Variety is the
spice of life! The Shangy Fun List is an ezine packed full of Poems, Inspirational and
Heart Warming Stories. Jokes from G to slightly R, and Anything else that just
might make you SMILE! Join In The Free FUN!! ... :)
As much as President Coolidge loved Rebecca (he was known to walk around the White
House with her draped around his neck), First Lady Grace Coolidge took even more
pleasure in pampering the raccoon.
'She was a mischievous, inquisitive party, and we had to keep watch of her when
she was in the house.' wrote the First Lady, Grace, 'She enjoyed nothing better
than being placed in a bathtub with a little water in it and given a cake of
soap with which to play. In this fashion, she would amuse herself for an hour
or more.'
The Coolidges liked their new friend so much that they decided to pick up a second
raccoon, a male named Rueben, to keep Rebecca company. Unfortunately, Rueben escaped
constantly, scaling trees and running around Pennsylvania Avenue, where traffic had
to be stopped until he could be retrieved. It wasn't long before Rueben escaped
the grounds forever and disappeared without a trace.
Rebecca, in the meantime, continued her ornery ways and it was clear that she wasn't
going to be allowed to stay in the White House or the Executive Mansion any longer.
By the end of Coolidge's presidency, Rebecca, in 1929, was donated to the
zoological quarters of Washington's Rock Creek Park, now known as the National Zoo.
She seemed to have adjusted to it quite well living a life happily ever after
there.
-To SHANGRALA-
