Champion Turkeys for the Hoovers

In this photograph, a group of men pose with champion turkeys selected by the Minnesota Arrow Association on the North Portico of the White House on November 25, 1929. From left to right: H.P. McBride, Percy C. Klein, White House Press Secretary George E. Akerson, R.C. Middaugh, and Roy Drake. The turkeys were destined for President Herbert Hoover and First Lady Lou Hoovers Thanksgiving table. Presidents and their families have received turkeys for the holidays as far back as the 1870s. The origin of the presidential turkey pardon is said to have started with President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, after he offered a clemency to a turkey purchased for Christmas dinner at his son's request. However, the pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey became a formalized tradition during the Ronald Reagan administration.