"In 1926, a citizen of Mississippi sent the raccoon to the First Family in time to be cooked for Thanksgiving. Calvin Coolidge instead kept her as a pet.She was, as befitted the First Raccoon, exquisitely accessorized: she wore an embroidered collar. Clad in her finery, she roamed the White House, playing hide-and-seek. She participated in the Easter egg roll on the White House lawn, a bow tied to her collar. President Coolidge, the press reported, liked to have her in his study, sometimes draped around his neck, stroking her as he worked late into the night. And so she lived a life of luxury until she did a thing many of her fellow Americans have dreamed of but very few have achieved: she bit the president of the United States..."
Embedded photo cropped for size from the original at the Library of Congress blog.
Oh, the good days, when you could mail a raccoon. And to the President, too!
ReplyDeleteI raised an orphaned raccoon and remember that time as fondly as I do my children's younger years. My sweet Rocky was able to transition to an independent life but she would come and visit for snuggles and crackers. I miss her every day.
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