Rebecca The White House Raccoon
The last Saturday of April is National First Ladies Day. While many people will look at their time in the White House and their political influence, that’s not the focus here. There is a story about one First Lady and her interesting choice of pet. This is the story of Rebecca the White House Raccoon.
The First Families have had some very cute and well-known pets over the years — mostly dogs. Cats and dogs make sense in that environment. They can have their fun within the grounds of the White House, enjoy being spoiled in the residence, and take part in photo opportunities. An animal you certainly wouldn’t expect to find living at the White House by invitation is a raccoon. Yet, that’s exactly what happened in 1926.
The Coolidge family, who already owned some dogs and birds, hadn’t planned on adding a raccoon to their menagerie. That autumn, the family was sent some alternative options for their Thanksgiving Dinner. Farmers were vying for a chance to be the official supplier for the holiday after the old turkey supplier died. The thought process behind sending a raccoon instead is unclear, and the family had no desire to kill her, stuff her, and stick her in the center of the table. Grace Coolidge instead decided that the raccoon — now christened Rebecca, would live at the White House as a pet.
It was quite the chance of scenery for this Mississippi-born raccoon, and things didn’t always go smoothly. Rebecca was pretty spoiled and took advantage of her new surroundings. She would gladly take part in the photo-ops and public events, even participating in the Easter Egg Roll. But, she also enjoyed causing trouble, getting into any unlocked cabinets, and digging around as any sound-minded raccoon would. She would also unscrew the lightbulbs, and it’s fun to imagine the Executive Branch calling a meeting to find none of the lights working and a happy raccoon scurrying away.
At one point, Rebecca was given a separate home outside. This treehouse should have been more to her taste and natural requirements, but when you’ve bathed in the tub in one of the grandest residences in the country, it probably feels a bit insulting. To the Coolidges’ credit, they did their best to make Rebecca feel special and attend to her needs. This included the decision to find her a mate.
Grace’s heart was in the right place in her quest to spark a romance, and she acquired a male called Reuben. Sadly, the pair couldn’t make it work. Perhaps it was the fact that Reuben was a wild raccoon that longed for his old life. Perhaps, as Grace suggested, it was Rebecca’s overbearing nature. Whatever the reason, Reuben fled and wasn’t seen again. Or, maybe he was, and the authorities simply couldn’t tell him apart from the other raccoons in the area.
Sadly, the relationship between the Coolidges and Rebecca the Raccoon could only last so long. Having a raccoon as a pet in the White House was one thing. Bringing a pet raccoon to a residence after the presidency was another. In 1929, the Coolidges decided to do the right thing and give Rebecca to Rock Creek Park City in the city. She could live out her retirement under the watch of the keepers until her death a short time later.
Meanwhile, the treehouse caught the attention of a squatter — an opossum that the Hoover family called Billy. Thankfully, they made the wise decision to leave Billy outside and not bring him in a pet — or as a very strange addition to the Thanksgiving table.
The series so far
Part 1: Rebecca The White House Raccoon https://medium.com/@d.e.bradley/rebecca-the-white-house-raccoon-7c007075282f
Part 2: George Washington And The American Mule https://medium.com/@d.e.bradley/george-washington-and-the-american-mule-9917da1f7fa5
Part 3: Andrew Jackson And The Swearing Parrot https://medium.com/@d.e.bradley/andrew-jackson-and-the-swearing-parrot-c25acfdece0a
Part 4: The Roosevelt’s Rabbit https://medium.com/@d.e.bradley/a-state-funeral-for-a-rabbit-e57d658e5381
