Rebecca (raccoon)

Grace Coolidge and Rebecca

Rebecca was a raccoon kept as a pet by US president Calvin Coolidge and his wife Grace Coolidge.

Rebecca came from Mississippi.[1] She had been sent to the White House to be served for the 1926 Thanksgiving dinner, but the Coolidges decided to keep her as a pet instead.

She was fed shrimp and persimmons, and eggs were a favorite;[2] she was let loose in the White House, and walked on a leash outdoors.[3]

As First Lady Grace wrote:

"We had a house made for her in one of the large trees, with a wire fence built around it for protection. We kept her chained when out of doors, but in the house she had her liberty. She was a mischievous, inquisitive party and we had to keep watch of her when she was in the house. 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."[2]

When the Coolidges took a vacation in the Black Hills, they brought Rebecca along in a basket, together with two of their dogs.[4] The Coolidges eventually donated Rebecca to the zoological quarters in Rock Creek Park (now the National Zoo) in Washington DC.[5] Reuben, a male racoon was acquired as a companion for Rebecca, but he soon escaped and was never recovered.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pietrusza, David (2008), Silent Cal's Almanack: The Homespun Wit and Wisdom of Vermont's Calvin Coolidge, p. 195
  2. 1 2 3 Pietrusza, David. ""Wombats and Such": Calvin and Grace Coolidge and Their Pets". www.davidpietrusza.com. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Truman, Margaret (2007), The President's House: 1800 to the Present, Random House, p. 150, ISBN 9780307417312
  4. ↑ Tupper, Seth (2017), Calvin Coolidge in the Black Hills, Arcadia Publishing, p. 37, ISBN 9781625857668
  5. ↑ Otfinoski, Steven (2010), Raccoons, Animals Animals, Marshall Cavendish, p. 34, ISBN 9780761448419
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