Presidential Turkey Pardon:
One of the funniest of the Thanksgiving traditions is the annual “presidential Turkey pardon.” The US Constitution gives the president great powers, including the power to pardon an accused person of a crime. In a humorous twist, there is a tradition of the US president “pardoning” a turkey at Thanksgiving, saying that that turkey will NOT be eaten. Some claim that tradition began with President Truman in 1947, while others believe it began with President Lincoln during the Civil War. (read more here.) Starting in 1981, under President Reagan, it became the tradition for the spared tukey to live out his life at a children’s farm. For many years, the turkeys enjoyed a happy retirement at the ironically-named “Frying Pan Farm” in Northern Virginia, close to Washington D.C.
However, recently the spared turkeys have been sent to Virginia Tech, a famous engineering and research univerity close to the world headquarters of DreyerCoaching.com. On the Virginia Tech campus, there is a spot called “Gobbler’s Rest,” where they will live.
After Thanksgiving 2017, a friend of mine from Taiwan drove to the Tech campus and saw Drumstick and Wishbone, the two turkeys pardoned by President Trump. (Scroll to p. 38 and read the article here, on the top right corner of the page.)
It’s another funny USA holiday tradition!