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November2006
HOME A Bard in the White House? Art of War No Stuffing For Me, Thanks! Dr. Evil's Lair? No, It's the Library's Y'All Come Back Now, Y'Hear? Who Celebrated the “First Thanksgiving”? If You Guessed “Plymouth Colonists,” You Might Be Surprised … Voices From the National WWII Reunion
No Stuffing For Me, Thanks!

Turkeys of the world breathed a sigh of relief on Thanksgiving Eve in 1947 as President Harry Truman “pardoned” a turkey the day before it was scheduled to be the main attraction at the White House Thanksgiving dinner. Since then, every year one lucky bird forgoes the axe and instead enjoys a permanent spot at a Herndon, Va., petting zoo.

Thanksgiving - taking home turkeys from raffle, Nov. 22, 1912 Family at dinner table, Thanksgiving, between 1880 and 1925

On Nov. 23, 2000, the turkey nation was on pins and needles, awaiting the news of their fate. As the nation celebrated Thanksgiving Day, it remained unclear who would pardon the White House turkey in 2001. The closest and longest presidential election in U.S. history found candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush wrangling over voting results for weeks. Bush was finally declared the winner after a Dec. 12 Supreme Court ruling found that hand-counting disputed votes in Florida was unconstitutional.

Follow the history of Thanksgiving, from 1541 to 2001, in the Thanksgiving Timeline linked from the American Memory Learning Page.

As for the rest of the turkeys doomed to a fate of cranberry sauce, candied yams and green-bean casserole, Americans pile their plates high and look forward to subsequent meals of turkey sandwiches, soup, casserole – you name it. Some like white meat, others prefer dark meat. In a turkey, the active muscles such as the legs store a lot of oxygen and become dark, while less active muscles like the breast remain white. This revelation and more can be found on the Everyday Mysteries page of the Library’s Science, Technology and Business Division reference service.


A. Thanksgiving - taking home turkeys from raffle, Nov. 22, 1912. SUMMARY: Rear view of 3 men, each carrying a turkey over his shoulder, on road. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction information: Reproduction No.: LC-USZ62-70874 (b&w film copy neg.); Call No.: LOT 10932 [item] [P&P]

B. Family at dinner table, Thanksgiving, between 1880 and 1925. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction information: Reproduction No.: LC-USZC4-1206 (color film copy transparency); Call No.: CAI - Penfield, no. 36 (B size) <P&P> [P&P]