Pardon me? How a rascally raccoon survived Thanksgiving and thrived

Presidents have often been presented with turkeys for the holidays. George H.W. Bush may have formalized the annual presidential turkey pardon that has since become a Thanksgiving ritual, but one lucky wingless critter earned a pardon and more in November 1926.

Vinnie Joyce of Nitta Yuma, Mississippi, sent President Coolidge a live raccoon to be cooked and served for that year’s Thanksgiving dinner.

According to the Smithsonian Magazine, eating raccoon at that time was not unusual. By the turn of the 20th century, raccoon meat could be found for sale in game markets and on the menus of city restaurants.

Indeed, some newspapers reported that it was odd that President Coolidge decided not to eat the raccoon, which was said to taste like chicken crossed with suckling pig and be less fatty than possum meat.

Coolidge, when asked if the raccoon was edible, said that it might be for some people, but not him. His sparing of the raccoon’s life would allow the would-be meal to become a beloved White House pet.

It wasn’t unusual for the Coolidges to keep animals, even odd ones, at the White House, which the press sometimes called the “Pennsylvania Avenue Zoo.” In addition to dogs, cats and birds, the president also received a black bear, a pygmy hippopotamus and two lion cubs, which he named “Budget Bureau” and “Tax Reduction.”

That Christmas, the raccoon received a collar engraved with “Rebecca Raccoon of the White House.”

Rebecca quickly made herself at home. She became known for tearing up clothing and clawing at furniture. She often found ways out of her harness and even chewed through the wooden bars of her cage, leading to raccoon chases in the White House.

Rebecca was often leashed when outside, and she frequently accompanied the president on walks on the White House grounds during the day. At night she would sometimes sit on his lap as he sat in front of the fireplace. The Coolidges could also keep her busy for hours by giving her a cake of soap and a partially filled bathtub.

The president lived in temporary quarters while the White House was being renovated in 1927. By then he had grown so attached to Rebecca that he had her brought from the White House with him in the presidential limousine.

At one point there seems to have been a bit of friction between Rebecca and the president when he appeared in public with his wrist bandaged. Rebecca was sent to do time in the national zoo.

However, Rebecca’s sentence was commuted again, and in less than a week she was back with the president and in good standing in the White House.

Rebecca was present at the 1927 White House Easter Egg Roll, but the excitement of the event seemed too much.

Somewhere in the midst of happy shouts and screams of thousands of children and the camera flashes from numerous photographers, Rebecca became a bit nervous. After clawing at First Lady Grace Coolidge, Rebecca was escorted back inside the White House for safety reasons.

Later that summer, the Coolidges went to the Black Hills in South Dakota for a vacation. They took several pets along on the nearly 2,000-mile railroad trip, including Rebecca.

In the wooded environment, the raccoon acted out, breaking out of her cage, climbing trees and generally escaping the grasp of pursuing Secret Service agents.

By 1928, with the Coolidges back in Washington, D.C., it was thought that Rebecca needed a raccoon companion. A policeman captured a male raccoon in Virginia and brought him to the White House. The president named the raccoon Reuben, but he and Rebecca did not get along.

Reuben escaped his cage frequently, climbed trees and even left the White House grounds and stopped traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue for a time. Eventually one of his escape attempts succeeded, as White House staff members were unable to locate him. Rebecca was back in the limelight as the sole White House raccoon.

She participated in the 1928 White House Easter Egg Roll. She behaved better this time, since the Coolidges had built a small wooden house with a swinging panel that allowed her access to privacy if necessary. The structure was enclosed by wire to allow for a barrier between Rebecca and visitors.

As the Coolidges’ time in the White House grew short, so did Rebecca’s. She continued to escape the White House grounds periodically. The Coolidges thought it would be better for her to live around other raccoons, so they donated her to the national zoo.

Unfortunately, life in the zoo proved difficult for Rebecca, and she didn’t live very long after leaving the White House.

Even so, there aren’t many people ­— let alone raccoons —­ who can say they have ridden in a presidential limousine and spent so much time at the White House. In her journey from menu item to pet, it’s clear that this raccoon made the most of her Thanksgiving reprieve.