Each year on December 31 at one minute before midnight (Eastern Standard Time), people from around the world welcome the new year when the shimmering 12,300-pound crystal Waterford ball drops slowly into Times Square.

As in most years, this year an estimated one million people are expected to be in Times Square, thought of as the “center of the universe” for this night. An audience of a billion more people are expected to watch via television or live-stream directly to their phones or other devices.

This year’s ball is a new one—the ninth iteration known as the “Constellation Ball.” It weighs more than 12,300 pounds and is covered with 5280 crystal discs (double the crystals used formerly). The discs are in three sizes and placed carefully to enhance the sparkle.  The ball is lighted by 32,256 Philips Luxeon LED lights.

The Double Drop

To kick off America’s 250^th birthday (the Semiquncentennial) there will be what is being called the “Double Drop.” At approximately 12:04 AM on January 1st, the ball will be relit in a unique red, white, and blue America 250 design. It will rise up the pole as pyrotechnics are set off to the playing of Ray Charles’s “America the Beautiful.” Those in Times Square will be showered with 2000 lbs of red, white, and blue confetti.

And for the first time in the 120-year tradition, the ball will make a second appearance. On July 3 at 12 midnight, the ball will drop in celebration of the Semiquincentennial.

The Party Tradition Begins

The first New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square occurred in 1904, just after the New York Times relocated to a new building in what had then called Longacre Square. Publisher Adolph Ochs successfully pushed to rename the area for his newspaper. The triangular area where the new building sat at the intersection of 7th Avenue, Broadway, and 42nd Streets has since that time has been known as Times Square.

That year Ochs wanted to celebrate the new location and he threw a huge all-day street festival capped off with a fireworks display that night. An estimated 200,000 people were said to be in attendance.

Up until this time, many New Yorkers celebrated the new year at Trinity Church with the ringing of the bells. With Ochs sponsoring festivities in Times Square, customs changed, and Times Square was the place to be.

A few years later the city banned the use of fireworks. That led to the creation of a new tradition using lights. At the end of 1905, the “1905” lights were configured to read “1906.” These electric lights flashed from the tower of the Times building, reportedly visible from miles away. The Times tower was also festooned with electric streamers that lit the building’s four corners.

The Idea for the Ball Drop

The idea of a ball drop was first used by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. In 1833, the Observatory installed a ball at the highest point in Greenwich Park. At 1 p.m. each day, the ball dropped to mark the time and allow the captains of nearby ships to set their chronometers. (When the telegraph was invented, telegraphers communicated the exact time to ships and businesses that could not see the ball drop.)

This tradition is the one mimicked by the dropping of the ball in Times Square.

The First Times Square Ball

The first ball made for Times Square was iron and wood and weighed 700 pounds; it featured light from one hundred 25-watt light bulbs. It was made by an immigrant metalworker whose company, Artkraft Strauss, took responsibility for the creation and dropping of the ball for most of the 20th century.

The ball must have been ordered during much more optimistic times. By the time it arrived for its use in 1907, its introduction was met with little joy and less fanfare. The “Bankers Crisis” occurred in October of 1907, causing a 50 percent drop in stocks at the New York Stock Exchange and leading to the spread of a nationwide recession.

There was no central bank to avert the disaster, and there was little public feeling of optimism in late December. (The following year, Congress undertook a study of the country’s financial structure that led to the creation of the Federal Reserve Bank.)

As a result, that first drop of the Times Square ball was met by a subdued crowd. The New York Times put a decent face on it with its report: “The dropping of the illuminated ball on the tower of The Times was awaited by an expectant crowd with upturned faces. The square was thronged. As the ball dropped on the stroke of twelve an involuntary cheer arose from many thousands.” (NYT 1-2-1908)

Ball Drop Cancelled Twice

During World War II, the United States was adhering to a wartime “dimout” to prevent enemy forces calculating where people might gather.  As a result in 1942 and 1943, there was no ball drop.

The tradition was so strong, however, that people still gathered in Times Square. At midnight during those war years, a minute of silence was observed followed by the ringing of chimes from sound trucks parked in Times Square.

In 2021, the ball drop occurred but public officials barred the public from coming into Times Square. There were a few groups of invited first-responders who had been heroic in their actions during the pandemic. Otherwise, everything was staged to be virtual. The sentiment was that there were too many bodies in morgues across the country.

By this year, community life has returned to normal. Security is always high for these occasions, but there is little doubt that people enjoy gathering in Times Square — or watching via television or the Internet — to mark the beginning of a new year.

To read about why we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Eve, click here.

Happy new year to you all.

Today the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is a worldwide symbol of opulence and the grand life of those who live in New York City, but this wasn’t how the tree began its story.

The first tree ever decorated at Rockefeller Center was improvised, put up by construction workers in December of 1931. They were grateful they had work when the country’s economic prospects were so bleak. The tree was decorated with paper garlands and some strings of cranberries, according to author Daniel Okrent who has written about the building of Rockefeller Center.  It also twinkled with reflections from a few tin cans hung by the men.

The Associated Press captured the moment. On the left side of the photograph, we can see a fellow standing at a wooden crate; he is the paymaster handing out paychecks.  The time is Christmas Eve.

Despite the Depression, the men were hired to build what was to become Rockefeller Center, a project that almost didn’t happen.  In 1928, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. leased the land from Columbia University because the Metropolitan Opera expressed interest in a midtown location.

With the stock market crash in 1929, the Metropolitan Opera backed out of its commitment. Rockefeller, too, had suffered major losses on Black Tuesday, however, after some thought, he became steadfast in his resolve to proceed with building the “city within a city” he planned.

In July 1931 a construction team broke ground on what would be the largest private construction project in New York City.  In doing so, Rockefeller not only provided jobs (some 75,000 over a nine-year period), but he also lifted morale of the entire city when people observed that a smart, wealthy businessman was expressing hope for the future.

The Tradition Begins

There was no Christmas tree in 1932 but in 1933 an official tree was selected and decorated to celebrate the first holiday season after the completion of the early buildings that became Rockefeller Center.   The first official tree was forty feet tall, double the height of the original one put up by the workers, and it was lit with 700 electric lights.  NBC Radio broadcast the lighting ceremony.

As the fame of the tree grew, so did its importance.  David P. Murbach (1952-2010) was head of the gardens division of Rockefeller Center, and for 26 years he was in charge of scouting for the tree. In The New York Times obituary about Murbach (1-5-2010), the tree selection was described as a year-round interest of his.  He sometimes traveled by helicopter to survey the trees in Connecticut, New Jersey, Vermont, Ohio, New York, and even Canada.

In Pursuit of Character

“You want personality: there’s density, a height and a width that we need,” says Murbach as quoted in the article. “But some trees have a way of holding their branches. I don’t know what else to call it but character.”

Once selected, the annual rite begins: The tree remains in place until late November when a crew returns for it.  The tree is supported by a crane while cut, and then usually transferred to a specially-built trailer on which it can make the journey into New York City, though once it made the journey by barge.  The size of tree is somewhat limited in height by what can fit on the trailer (125 feet) but more so by the width of the New York City streets the tree must travel.

World Events Sometimes Reflected

In 1942 Rockefeller Center put up three trees but didn’t light them.  They were decorated in red, white, and blue “nonessential materials,” those not needed for the war effort.  The following year the tree also remained dark.

During the oil embargo in 1973 Rockefeller Center announced that they were using fewer lights, and kept them on for fewer hours than in other years. As of 2007 LED lights have been used, and they are powered by solar panels on nearby buildings.

This year’s tree, like many others have been, is a Norway spruce. The 2025 tree arrived in Manhattan from East Greenbush, New York, near Albany.  Since 2006, the trees are later donated to Habitat for Humanity. This year when the crowds disperse and the lights and ornaments come off, the tree will be milled and turned into lumber for home-building.

To read about tree-lighting at the White House, click on The Tradition of the White House Tree Lighting Ceremony.

Where was the first department store Santa in the United States?

There are three contenders:

Was it Macy’s?

Or a store in Philadelphia?
Or was it that smaller store in Massachusetts?

First Store Santa at Macy’s?

The earliest mention of a department store Santa is in 1862 at Macy’s in Herald Square. This is just four years after the store was founded, but long before it hosted its holiday parade.  (The Thanksgiving Parade of today began in 1924 as a Christmas Parade.)

There is not much detail on this Santa and for that reason, it’s appropriate to look at other possible Santa “firsts.”

Perhaps Philadelphia Had the First Santa?

James Wood Parkinson (1818-1895) is sometimes suggested for being first.  According to the Encyclopedia of Food & Culture, he was the first to introduce a live Santa whom children could visit.

The year James Parkinson was born (1818), his parents purchased an inn in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Arms.

They were confectioners, but they planned to switch to inn-keeping as their primary business. However, their reputation in candy-making preceded them, and the public clamored for their sweets.

By the mid-1840s, son James, who wanted to be a chef, was ready to set up his own place. He acquired financial backing to open a restaurant in a lavishly furnished mansion on Chestnut Street. There was a main room for fine dining, a rose garden for outdoor dining, and a delicatessen/general store where Parkinson sold imported toys and foods as well as some of the family confections.

Parkinson arranged for a Santa to be on hand throughout the holidays. While the store was often filled with people who wanted to see the beautifully-made bonbons or the delicacies imported from Europe,Parkinson gave them a special reason to come to the store at Christmas time and bring their children to see Santa.

Or Perhaps the Store Santa Was in Massachusetts?

When merchant James Edgar moved to Brockton, Massachusetts (about 30 miles south of Boston)in 1878, he opened a small department store—called The Boston Store.

When he saw the town had no community celebration for the Fourth of July, he wanted to rectify that. He decided to provide the kids with a daylong outing in honor of the country’s birthday.

Children were invited to arrive at the store in the early morning of July Fourth, and Edgar rented town trolley cars to take them to a picnic ground in Avon, Massachusetts. There, he arranged for food and entertainment to last throughout the day. Within a few short years, Edgar was transporting 3-4 thousand children to the picnic grounds.

The Fourth of July showed James Edgar the fun of dressing in costume. The first year he wore a clown costume. The next year he was George Washington, then as an Indian chief, and one year, he took a page from his ancestral roots and wore a Highlander kilt.

Santa in Spirit For Sure

In the mid-1880s, he decided to experiment with this at holiday time. His first year (in the 1880s), he wore the clown costume to the store. When people enjoyed it, he had a Santa suit made for the following year.

Rather than sit in one location as Santas today do, Edgar enjoyed wandering the aisles to chat with customers. In the beginning, he devoted an hour each week day to being Santa–on Saturday, he set aside 3 hours to wander the aisles in costume.

As word about Santa traveled, people came from as far away as Boston and Providence to meet “the real Santa Claus.” He finally enlisted one of his other employees to be Santa, so that Santa was more available than the hours James Edgar could devote to him.

In many ways, James Edgar himself embodied some Santa-like qualities. He paid his clerks better than other clerks in town, and taught his staff that “ the poorest person [who comes into the store] must receive as courteous treatment as the richest…”

James Edgar’s Philosophy Outlived Him

In 1909 when he was only 67, James Edgar suffered a stroke. He died shortly after. The store remained a community mainstay, and the new owner assumed the responsibilities that James Edgar always felt.

In the 1920s, Brockton suffered an economic downturn. Families struggled and among the items they often couldn’t afford were new shoes for their growing children. As a result, the kids couldn’t get to school.

Santa There Anyway

The new owner of The Boston Store knew that James Edgar would have found a way to help out. For this reason, he closed the restaurant on the top floor of the building and turned it into a shoemaking and shoe repair shop.

An “Edgar Barrel”was placed on the main floor of the store. Families who were better off and had shoes to donate could leave them there. In addition to making new shoes, the shoemakers could repair and re-sole the donated shoes. All the shoes made were distributed for free to those in need.

So my money is on James Edgar as having been the first store Santa. If he wasn’t actually first, he still was the fellow who embodied the Santa spirit of giving.

Store Santa Tradition Grew

By the 1920s, department store Santas were very important for selling holiday merchandise. Department stores created “Santa Lands” with wandering pathways that took families by mammoth Christmas trees, jugglers and magicians, and sometimes even live animals—all to keep thefamily entertained while waiting for a turn with Santa.

Once a childreached Santa, they told him what they wanted, had their picture taken with theBig Guy, and then receive a special present from the store. (A copy of the story, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” began as a Santa hand-out at Montgomery Ward in Chicago.)

Today times have changed in Santa’s world and in merchandising. At big stores like Macy’s, Santa and Santaland remain popular—so popular that you need to go online to make a reservation to set up an appointment with Santa. (If families arrive without a reservation, the elves will try to accommodate them, but there is no guarantee.)  The Macy’s website also notes family’s may make requests for Santa. If you prefer your child speak with an African American or a Hispanic or Chinese Santa, the bigger stores will do their best to accommodate.

Times Change

So while life at the big stores is working out fine for Santa, the same is not true everywhere. The Wall Street Journal (12-18-18) ran a feature discussing the sad state of Santas in small towns and in some shopping malls.  Often there is little or no foot traffic, and Santa is idle. If the mall is truly empty, then most mall managers agree that it’s fine for Santa to read or to check his phone.

If there is some foot traffic, however, Santas are taught to put on a “resting smile” and look attentive.

One Santa told The Wall Street Journal reporter that without a line of waiting people, some families were inclined to linger for awhile, and he ran out of things to say. For that reason, he created a “back story” for each reindeer. That way he has plenty of stories to tell to those who stay!

The Old Newsboys Goodfellow Fund of Detroit has existed since 1914 as a way to assure that children not be forgotten at Christmas time. More than a century later, the Fund remains a well-respected civic institution. In addition to their holiday mission, they now provide school supplies, dental health care, summer camp scholarships, and grants-in-aid to attend Wayne State University.

Perhaps the organization’s staying power is partially explained by the fact that it grew from a compilation of well-intended forces. It is a tale of community-minded citizens wanting to do good and desiring to establish positive examples for young people who might grow up to be leaders in Detroit.

Vision for Giving

The vision for the Fund came from former newsboy and Detroit businessman James J. Brady (1878-1925).

In the early 1920s after the Fund was well-established, Brady was interviewed by a reporter from The New York World. The reporter asked about his wealth, perhaps thinking that Brady funded the effort. Brady responded with his true contribution: “Why I am the richest man in Detroit because I have more friends than any man here.”

His capacity for friendship gave him the ability to inspire the volunteers he needed to accomplish his goal.

Family Struggles of the Early Twentieth Century

In the late 1890s, cities had few social safety nets for the poor. Families were big, and if income was inadequate, older children sometimes moved out and tried to make their own way. Other times, they got work as errand runners or newsboys and brought home what money they made.

During the holidays, a few charities would try to help, but the assistance in all cities was spread unevenly, and the problems were overwhelming.

The Inspiration of Editorial Cartoons

During that time, newspapers, sold by newsboys, were the primary way of spreading the news. Editorial cartoons carried particular heft. They were easy to glance at, and readers came away with a message. Two cartoons that ran in Detroit early in the century helped draw attention to the plight of the poor.

The first cartoon appeared in 1908 and was drawn by Thomas May. (Thomas May’s own story is re-published in The Story of the Goodfellows written by Ernest Philip LaJoie in 1938.)  In 1907, the May family housekeeper arrived the day after Christmas telling a sad story. On her way to work, she encountered a little girl sobbing on a street corner: Christmas was over and Santa had left nothing for her.

The housekeeper wanted to comfort the little girl and told her that because Santa had such a long list of places to visit, many gifts were delivered the day after Christmas.

The woman then went directly to the May household and requested the family’s help in putting together a Christmas for the little girl.

“Forgotten”

The next year, Thomas May remembered the incident and drew a scene of a little girl crying alone in her attic room. He entitled it, “Forgotten.”

When May submitted it to his boss at The Detroit Journal, the editor said, “We can’t use that, Tom. It will spoil Christmas for a lot of people.”

May responded that he wanted to spoil Christmas for every man and woman in Detroit who remembered only themselves at Christmastime.

The cartoon ran, and people were moved.

The Detroit Journal heard from so many readers they created the “Forgotten” Club” to provide a way to accept donations from readers. Other newspapers followed suit. The name, “Goodfellow Club” was used by The Chicago Tribune and The Detroit News. In Detroit, the fund was overseen by the Old Newsboys Association and was initially for former newsboys down on their luck.

These clubs didn’t solve the problem of poverty, but at least they were a start.

Political Cartoon Inspires James Brady

Six years later. Detroit businessman James J. Brady was struck by another political cartoon. This one was by Burt Thomas, the cartoonist for The Detroit News. The drawing was of a well-to-do gentleman laden with packages for the poor. He was holding the hand of a young newsboy dressed in tattered clothing. The caption read, “The Boy He Used to Be.”

A former newsboy, Brady enjoyed great success in business. He had been a plant manager for carmaker Ransom E. Olds. He then moved on to a job in banking, and later, worked as a tax collector for the IRS. The tax collecting put him in direct contact with struggling families. He saw how difficult it was.

Brady consulted his friend E.J. Pipp, the managing editor at The Detroit News, explaining to Pipp he wanted to help these families. Pipp knew about the Goodfellow Fund run by the Newsboys Association and suggested Brady approach them about expanding their mission.

Brady, a magnetic man, approached his friends who were former newsboys and soon he had a plan.

Establishing the System

Newsboys of all ages always have their favorite corners. For two hours on a pre-planned day, the old newsboys would buy out the newspapers from the young boy currently working that corner.

The men then sold for charity for two hours. Some citizens could afford only a nickel for the paper; others would hand a $20 or $100 bill, knowing that no change was given. All money collected during the two-hour period went to create Christmas packages for the poor.

At the end of two hours the men returned to the newspaper offices to count and pool their take. Top fundraisers were announced. The men enjoyed teasing and competing again.

The First Year of the Old Newsboys

Jim Brady’s goal that first year was $400. He worried about failure, so in advance, he withdrew that amount from his savings account. If he needed to, he would supplement the amount raised.

He needn’t have worried. In 1914, 75 former newsboys brought in $2275, enough to buy toys for 3379 kids.

Each year the old newsboys outsold their previous year so they were able to grow and expand their purpose.  By 1919, the Goodfellow Fund and James Brady’s Old Newsboys combined to create what is still known as the Old Newsboys’ Goodfellow Fund of Detroit. (Other cities have Goodfellow Clubs. All function a little differently and there is no expense of a national office.)

Tradition Expands and Continues

Candy, toys, gifts, and clothing were all part of the early packages. Early on, a much-coveted part of each package was a voucher for shoes. Regular kids often lacked footwear, but in the 1920s, more children had foot problems than we see today. The voucher allowed for those with special needs to be taken care of as well. Often this was their first pair of shoes, and it was truly appreciated. (The shoes program continues for qualified families.)

In 1924, dolls became a permanent addition. With the dolls came the ability to involve more of the community. The Fund purchased dolls in quantity that first year, and Detroit’s telephone operators (their “Hello Girls”) volunteered to create handmade dresses to clothe the dolls.

Soon there were annual contests for the best-dressed dolls, and the winning dolls were put on display in the windows of local merchants. The newspapers publicized the whereabouts of the dolls as they were moved from store to store during the month. Citizens would make a trip to town to see the dolls on display.

This additional publicity generated more sewing volunteers Today almost 11,000 dolls are still dressed by volunteers and there is a waiting list for people who want to help.

More Organizations Join In

An effective organization is like a magnet to other people who want to help, and that has certainly been true of the Old Newsboys’ Goodfellow Fund. At the outset, the Board of Education helped gather names of families who needed help though today names are gathered in other ways.

Initially, deliveries were made by the firemen and Boy Scouts. Soon the police pitched in, too. Now the program is so vast that gifts are delivered to distribution centers, and qualified families stop by to pick up their boxes. For many children, these are the only holiday gifts they will receive.

Over the years, many civic organizations have helped raise funds. From the Teachers Association to the Firemen’s Ball to a charity football game between the public and parochial high schools—community groups have found ways to participate.

A Century Later

A century later—2014—the Detroit News reported that more than 300 members now bring in more than a million dollars a year and over 35,000 boxes are filled with toys, clothes, books, and dolls. Gifts are distributed to families in Detroit, Highland Park, River Rouge, Hamtramck and Harper Woods.

The packages include a sweatshirt, sweatpants, socks, underwear, hat, gloves or mittens, dental kit, an application for a Detroit Public Library card, candy, four age-appropriate books, and four-five games or toys. Girls ages 4-9 still receive dolls dressed by volunteers.

Today the Sale Day is still held, and other organizations pitch in, but according to The Detroit News, about 80 percent of the money is now raised by members sending out personal letters to friends and family.  Several families—including the Bradys—who started the organization are still involved.

Current membership of the Old Newsboys’ Goodfellow Fund includes city dignitaries, judges, members of the police force as well as some former people who remember what receiving the Goodfellow gifts meant to them when they were growing up. (As newsboys became a thing of the past, the organization dropped the requirement that members be former newsboys.) The first women joined in 1975.

James Brady Legacy

James Brady died in 1925. He was only age 47, and it was just nine years after he organized the group.  When he started out to fulfill his wish that there be “No Kiddie without a Christmas,” he could not have dreamed of how big the organization would be or how long it has lasted.

Those who worked with him vowed that his efforts would not be forgotten. They raised the funds for a memorial statue that was unveiled in 1928, and still stands in Detroit’s beautiful Belle Isle Park.

The monument is of James Brady holding a newspaper. He has on an overcoat with a small girl by his side, protecting her.

Each side of the monument has a bronze tablet. On one side is a copy of Burt Thomas’s cartoon, “The Boy He Used to Be.” It says:

As our tribute to the spirit of charity this monument is affectionately dedicated to/the memory of James J. Brady, Founder of the Old Newsboys’ Goodfellow Fund of Detroit.

The other tablet shows “Forgotten,” and is inscribed:

Because he loved the children of the poor and devoted his life to good works, his friends have caused this monument to be created and erected.

And the work continues.

***

If any Detroit residents (or former residents) would like to tell me about yours—or a relative’s–experience with the Goodfellow Fund, please contact me: kate@americacomesalive.com

Turkey is the traditional main course eaten by Americans on Thanksgiving Day, and the occupants of the White House have long celebrated this tradition. But unlike mere mortals who buy our turkeys at the grocery store, the first family has farms vying for the honor of providing turkeys for the White House.

Turkey Gift Tradition Goes Back to 1870s

While presidents prior to Ulysses S. Grant doubtless received Thanksgiving turkeys from admirers, a Rhode Island poultry farmer named Harold Vose was the first to make a custom of it. Vose sent President Grant “the noblest gobbler in all that little state” in 1873. With that gift, Vose began an annual tradition.

Vose did not always raise the Thanksgiving turkey but he was well known for his donation, so he attracted the attention of turkey men throughout the Northeast. He sometimes traveled to visit the farms he thought were raising promising birds. In addition, farmers from Connecticut and Rhode Island and environs arrived at Vose’s farm, offering to sell him the “perfect” bird for the White House meal. Vose carefully weighed and evaluated the birds, buying many of them. As the holiday neared, he chose the largest most perfect bird for that year.

Vose may have taken on the responsibility for promotional reasons or out of patriotism, and his commitment to providing the official White House turkey did not flag.  Vose’s farm is cited as the source of the official White House turkey through 1913. That December Vose died, bringing to an end the tradition of the official turkey coming from Rhode Island.

New Turkey Provider

By 1915 the source of the official turkey was new.  That year it was provided by the House of Representatives clerk, South Trimble.  Trimble was from Lexington, Kentucky, but during the summer of 1915, he reportedly visited a relative’s farm in Oregon and hand-picked the turkey that was to be raised for the White House. Given the state of refrigeration at that time, the bird likely made the cross-country train trip while still alive.

In 1917, Trimble was still sending the White House the official turkey but that year it was coming from a farm in Kentucky.  The turkey had been specially raised for the White House and was fattened on a diet of acorns and chestnuts.  However, train congestion caused a delay in delivery and, as The New York Times described, the turkey was delivered “at the eleventh hour” after many days’ traveling.  (The New York Times, 11-29-17).

Other Turkeys and Birds Arrive, Too

Most years, however, the White House did not need to worry about having something for dinner. Other turkeys or game were delivered with great regularity.  In 1904 The New York Times (11-23-1904) wrote that the official turkey (no doubt the Vose turkey at this time) was the only bird that would be served at the President’s table on Thanksgiving but that there were many other offerings sent to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  “These included turkeys, game birds in season, and other offerings appropriate to the day and occasion.”

A glance through a newspaper of the early 1900s show articles that describe cabinet members arriving at the White House bearing the results of their weekend hunting trips. What better plan—bring your catch to someone else to prepare!

Coolidge Tries to Change Tradition

Grace and Calvin Coolidge were “animal” people, and they were distressed at the thought of receiving more birds than needed. For that reason, President Calvin Coolidge specified in 1923 (his first year in office) that no turkeys were to be given to him for Thanksgiving dinner.

He announced that he and Grace preferred to buy their own turkey to reduce waste.  (The New York Times, 11-28-1923)

The president made no ruling on dessert, however. One admiring Washington chef sent to the White House a two-and-a-half foot wide pumpkin pie. The fellow enclosed a note saying that he would have baked a larger pie if he had been able to find a larger oven.

On the turkey front, Coolidge was fighting a losing battle. In 1924, birds for the White House continued to arrive. One of Coolidge’s aides reported that the table featured two turkey gobblers; each one weighing more than 30 pounds. The Coolidge White House also received two score quail, wild ducks, wild geese, more than a dozen rabbits, and a young buck deer. The New York Times wrote that this was the first time a deer had been sent for Thanksgiving.

Coolidges Save Thanksgiving Raccoon

The deer must have already been killed, or Grace Coolidge likely would have stopped it. One of the Coolidge pets—a raccoon soon named Rebecca—first arrived as a gift for Thanksgiving dinner. That was not happening under Grace Coolidge’s watch. Rebecca was quickly snatched from the hands of anyone on the kitchen staff. A pen was built around a tree as a home for Rebecca. The Coolidges acquired a companion for Rebecca, but Reuben soon moved out. Rebecca, however, was with them for quite some time.

In 1929 the Hoovers were well set for Thanksgiving dinner with the official turkey, but Washington Postmaster William M. Mooney wanted to add another. He killed an 18-pound turkey while hunting in the Shenandoah Valley; he brought it to the White House, and we assume Mooney was invited to stay for dinner.

Northwestern Turkey Growers Want a Turn

In 1936 we have a new source of the official turkey—this time the Northwestern Turkey Growers Association with members in fourteen states.  The turkey that was deemed the king of turkeys for the year was raised by Ed Spaulding of Provo, Utah.  The Utah Governor Henry H. Blood, a Democrat, had a donkey crate created for the turkey’s trip.  Since the donkey is the symbol of the Democratic Party, it was Governor Blood’s way of sending very special greetings to President Roosevelt.

National Turkey Federation Takes Over

By 1947, the National Turkey Federation took on the responsibility of being the official supplier of the White House turkey for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We can assume that “back-up turkeys” continued to be delivered to the White House.

Theft of Valentines Prevented by Observant Dog

Often when I’m researching a story, I come upon another piece of information that is just too good to ignore. This story is from The New York Times, February 1882, reprinted from the Sacramento Union newspaper of February 1, 1882.

Headlined “The Remarkable Intelligence Displayed by a Valentine-Seller’s St. Bernard,” the story describes a merchant who runs a general store where valentines were sold. A “fine specimen” of a dog, a St. Bernard and Newfoundland mix, accompanied the merchant to work each day.

The reporter contends that though the dog had no special training, his regular attendance at the store taught him that no one leaves the store without having first exchanged money with a salesman.

Troublesome Boys Enter for Valentines

When a group of boys came in to examine the valentines, the dog became alert. “They were a rather rough-looking lot, and as soon as [the merchant] could leave other customers, he hastened toward the boys.”

With the approach of the shop owner, the boys concluded they had no need for valentines. But as they were leaving the store, “the dog arose, barred their passage to the door, and growled threateningly.”

The dog’s master was alarmed. He had never seen this reaction from his pet. He spoke sharply to the dog and urged him toward the back of the store.

The dog was still growling. As the boys turned to leave, the merchant “espied a package of valentines sticking from the pocket of one of the boys.  He immediately seized the youngster and searched him, and as a result found that he had stolen and stored away about his person a good supply of the tempting valentines.”

Trouble Averted

Once the valentines were taken away from the boy, the dog became quiet again.

The reporter concludes that anyone who witnessed this would have to believe that the dog “knew that the boy was stealing, and that it was his duty, as a faithful servant of a kind master, to do all in his power to prevent the loss of his property.”

Presumably, the dog returned to his nap and enjoyed a fine piece of meat for dinner.

***

Perhaps our current news cycle ought to permit more time for stories of dogs and valentines. There’s something entirely refreshing about the time the reporter took to tell what is a relatively simple story.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

To read about another intelligent dog, read A Smart German Shepherd.