Unusual White House Pets
No dogs or cats here! A number of unorthodox pets have arrived at the White House and become part of the first family in very unusual ways throughout history. Research: “All Creatures Great and Small: Ground Floor Pet Sculptures.” The White House. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/holiday/2002/groundfloor/05.html “An Animal Often Misjudged.” Evening Star. Nov. 28, 1926. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/618563692/?match=1&terms=raccoon%20%22white%20house%22%20coolidge “Coolidge Didn’t Leave ‘Rebecca’ Behind.” News Journal. March 11, 1927. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/291999678/?match=1&terms=rebecca%20raccoon Coolidge, Calvin. “The Autobiography Of Calvin Coolidge.” Cosmopolitan Book Corporation. 1929. https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofc011710mbp/page/n1/mode/2up Costello, Matthew. “Raccoons at the White House.” The White House Historical Association. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/raccoons-at-the-white-house Hard, Anne. “Pets of the White House.” The Minneapolis Journal. Jan. 6, 1929. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/811305767/?match=1&terms=%22reuben%20raccoon%22 Heiskell, Samuel Gordon. “Andrew Jackson and early Tennessee history, Vol. 3.” Ambrose Printing Co. 1921. https://archive.org/details/andrewjacksonear31heis/page/52/mode/2up?q=parrot Jack the Turkey. “On Gratitude.” President Lincoln’s Cottage. No. 27, 2014. https://www.lincolncottage.org/on-gratitude/ King, Gilbert. “The History of Pardoning Turkeys Began With Tad Lincoln.” Smithsonian Magazine. Nov. 21, 2012. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-history-of-pardoning-turkeys-began-with-tad-lincoln-141137570/ “Live Raccoon Gives Coolidge Big Problem.” The Columbus Ledger. Nov. 26, 1926. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/855229358/?match=1&terms=raccoon%20%22white%20house%22%20coolidge McGraw, Eliza. “This raccoon could have been a president’s Thanksgiving meal. It became a White House pet instead.” The Washington Post. Nov. 25, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/11/25/this-raccoon-could-have-been-presidents-thanksgiving-meal-it-became-white-house-pet-instead/ “Meet Rebecca!” The Cincinnati Enquirer. Dec. 25, 1926. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/103377809/?match=1&terms=rebecca%20raccoon Meyer, Holly. “Andrew Jackson’s Funeral Drew Thousands, 1 Swearing Parrot.” The Tennessean. June 7, 2015. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2015/06/07/andrew-jacksons-funeral-drew-thousands-swearing-parrot/28664493/ Mezaros, John. “Statue of Jack the Pardoned Turkey.” Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/statue-of-jack-the-pardoned-turkey Moser, Harold D. (ed.) “The Papers of Andrew Jackson.” University of Tennessee Press. 2002. https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=utk_jackson “Odds and Ends At the Nation’s Capital.” The Buffalo News. March 1, 1928. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/837109710/?match=1&terms=rebecca%20raccoon “Raccoon Sent to Coolidge to Be White House Pet.” Salt Lake Telegram. Dec. 1, 1926. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/288632502/?match=1&terms=raccoon%20%22white%20house%22%20coolidge “Rebecca in Disgrace Again As She Flees White House Kennels to Spend Night Out.” The Evening Star. Dec. 14, 1927. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/618609389/?match=1&terms=%22rebecca%20in%20disgrace%22 “Rebecca, Raccoon, Is Banished From Coolidge Domicile.” San Francisco Examiner. March 17, 1927. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/457915005/?match=1&terms=rebecca%20raccoon Upton, Harriet Taylor. “Our Early Presidents, Their Wives and Children: From Washington to Jackson.” D. Lothrop Company. 1890. Accessed online: https://books.google.com/books?id=vzpOAAAAYAAJ&vq=alligator&source=gbs_navlinks_s “Wills House Virtual Identity: Thomas ‘Tad’ Lincoln.” National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/gett/learn/historyculture/wills-house-virtual-identity-thomas-tad-lincoln.htm Wootson, Cleve R. Jr. “A history of White House profanity — and one cursing presidential parrot.” Washington Post. Jan. 12, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/01/12/a-potty-mouthed-history-of-presidential-profanity-and-one-cursing-white-house-parrot/ Wright, James L. “Coolidge Heads Toward Outing Spot in Dakota.” The Buffalo News. June 14, 1927. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/836843871/?match=1&terms=rebecca%20raccoonakota.” Zellner, Xander. “A Brief History of President-Bird Companionship.” Audubon. Feb 12, 2016. https://www.audubon.org/news/a-brief-history-president-bird-companionship See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8 Dec 34min
SYMHC Classics: Nutcracker
This 2021 episode covers how The Nutcracker is a Russian adaptation of a German story that wasn’t really a Christmas staple in its home country.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6 Dec 39min
Behind the Scenes Minis: Much Charles, Many Dogs
Tracy shares how her Charles Sumner research yielded a three-part episode. Holly mentions that while there's not a lot of scholarly work about Cassius Coolidge's life, he is featured in a lot of newspaper mentions from his time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
5 Dec 29min
Cassius Coolidge and Dogs Playing Poker
Cassius Marcellus Coolidge’s most well-known art is the Dogs Playing Poker series. He was a true Renaissance man, and even patented a style of kitsch art. Research: Arn, Jackson. “Why This Painting of Dogs Playing Poker Has Endured for over 100 Years.” Artsy. June 6, 2018. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-painting-dogs-playing-poker-endured-100-years Barry, Dan. “Artist’s Fame Is Fleeting, But Dog Poker Is Forever.” New York Times. June 14, 2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/14/nyregion/artist-s-fame-is-fleeting-but-dog-poker-is-forever.html “The bicycling fraternity …” The Evening World. Oct. 17, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/50674735/?match=1&terms=%22cassius%20coolidge%22 Coolidge, Asenath Carver. “The Independence Day Horror at Killsbury.” Hungerford-Holbrook Company. 1905. https://books.google.com/books?id=-04LAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22cassius+coolidge%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s Coolidge, Cassius M. (as Kash). “The Accomodating Lender.” The Cosmopolitan. Volume 2. Schlicht & Field, 1887. P. 120. https://books.google.com/books?id=P5rNAAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s Coolidge, Cassius M. “Improvement in the processes of taking photographic pictures.” U.S. Patent Office. April 14, 1874. https://patents.google.com/patent/US149724 “Dog Poker Art Fetches Big Bucks.” CBS News. Feb. 16, 2005. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dog-poker-art-fetches-big-bucks/ Edwards, Phil. “Ever stick your face in a cutout? Meet the kitsch genius who invented them.” Vox. May 29, 2015. https://www.vox.com/2015/5/29/8682601/carnival-cutouts-inventor “The exciting road race …” The Evening World. Sept. 26, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/163980688/?match=1&terms=%22cassius%20coolidge%22 “Gallinipper Mosquitos & Other Insects.” Nebraska Extension Disaster Education. https://disaster.unl.edu/gallinipper-mosquitos-other-insects/ “George A. Banker received this week …” Pittsburg Dispatch. Aug. 16, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/76578744/?match=1&terms=%22cassius%20coolidge%22 Haddock, John A. “The Growth of a Century: as Illustrated in the History of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793 to 1894.” Sherman and Company, 1894. https://books.google.com/books?id=KyUVAAAAYAAJ&dq=antwerp+cassius+coolidge+bank&source=gbs_navlinks_s “King Gallinipper.” New York Times. April 28, 1892. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1892/04/28/104126214.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 Lewis, Joel. “Boat Unloading: Cassius Marcellus Coolidge,” Rutherford Red Wheelbarrow 7. Issue 7, part 2014. https://books.google.com/books?id=Zu__BgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA205&dq=coolidge%20%22september%2018%2C%201844%22&pg=PA205#v=onepage&q&f=false McManus, James. “Play It Close to the Muzzel and Cards on the Table.” New York Times. Dec. 3, 2005. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/03/sports/othersports/play-it-close-to-the-muzzle-and-paws-on-the-table.html Martinovic, Jelena. “Beloved By All But The Art World - The Dogs Playing Poker Painting by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge.” Artsper. Feb. 27, 2025. https://blog.artsper.com/en/a-closer-look/dogs-playing-poker-painting/ “Mr. Cassius M. Coolidge, the New York artist and playwright …” Sun-Journal. Oct. 3, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/828104988/?match=1&terms=%22cassius%20coolidge%22 “A Notable Game of Poker.” The Sun. Sept. 17, 1893. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1893-09-17/ed-1/?sp=7&st=pdf&r=0.147%2C0.847%2C0.213%2C0.088%2C0 “Rehearsals for ‘King Gallinipper,’ …” The Evening World. April 20, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/50663243/?match=1&terms=%22cassius%20coolidge%22 “Reviewed Work(s): A Prophet of Peace by Asenath Carver Coolidge and Cassius M. Coolidge.”The Advocate of Peace (1894-1920), Vol. 70, No. 5 (MAY, 1908), p. 117. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20665503 “Teachers’ Institute.” Democrat and Chronicle. June 9, 1876. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/135109029/?match=1&terms=%22cassius%20coolidge%22 “The wheelmen of the Manhattan Atheltic Club …” The Evning World. Sept. 23, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/163977579/?match=1&terms=%22cassius%20coolidge%22 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
3 Dec 35min
Charles Sumner Revisited (part 3)
The third installment of our Charles Sumner episode covers how, two days after Charles Sumner delivered an incendiary speech before the senate, Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina came into the Senate chamber and attacked Sumner at his desk. Research: "Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A148425674/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=95485851. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025. “Roberts v. City of Boston, 5 Cush. 198, 59 Mass. 198 (1849).” Caselaw Access Project. Harvard Law School. https://case.law/caselaw/?reporter=mass&volume=59&case=0198-01 “The Prayer of One Hundred Thousands.” https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/PrayerofOneHundredThousand.pdf Alexander, Edward. “The Caning of Charles Sumner.” Battlefields.org. 3/6/2024. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/caning-charles-sumner Beecher, Henry Ward. “Charles Sumner.” Advocate of Peace (1847-1884) , MAY, 1874. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27905613 Berry, Stephen and James Hill Welborn III. “The Cane of His Existence Depression, Damage, and the Brooks–Sumner Affair.” Southern Cultures , Vol. 20, No. 4 (WINTER 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26217562 Boston African American National Historic Site. “Abiel Smith School.” https://www.nps.gov/boaf/learn/historyculture/abiel-smith-school.htm Boston African American National Historic Site. “The Sarah Roberts Case.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-sarah-roberts-case.htm Child, Lydia Maria. “Letters of Lydia Maria Child.” Houghton, Mifflin and Company. 1883. https://archive.org/details/lettersoflydiam00chil Commonwealth Museum. “Roberts v. The City of Boston, 1849.” https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/commonwealth-museum/exhibits/online/freedoms-agenda/freedoms-agenda-8.htm Frasure, Carl M. “Charles Sumner and the Rights of the Negro.” The Journal of Negro History , Apr., 1928, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Apr., 1928). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2713959 Gershon, Livia. “Political Divisions Led to Violence in the US Senate in 1856.” JSTOR Daily. 1/7/2021. https://daily.jstor.org/violence-in-the-senate-in-1856/ History, Art and Archives. “South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks’s Attack on Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts.” U.S. House of Representatives. https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/South-Carolina-Representative-Preston-Brooks-s-attack-on-Senator-Charles-Sumner-of-Massachusetts/ Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site. “An Era of Romantic Friendships: Sumner, Longfellow, and Howe.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/an-era-of-romantic-friendships-sumner-longfellow-and-howe.htm Lyndsay Campbell; The “Abolition Riot” Redux: Voices, Processes. The New England Quarterly 2021; 94 (1): 7–46. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/tneq_a_00877 Mahr, Michael. “Sumner vs. Cane.” National Museum of Civil War Medicine. 5/24/2023. https://www.civilwarmed.org/sumner-vs-cane/ Meriwether, Robert L. “Preston S. Brooks on the Caning of Charles Sumner.” The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine , Jan., 1951, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Jan., 1951). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27571254 Mount Auburn Cemetery. “Charles Sumner (1811-1874): U.S. Senator, Abolitionist, & Orator.” https://mountauburn.org/notable-residents/charles-sumner-1811-1874/ National Park Service. “Charles Sumner and Romantic Friendships.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/charles-sumner-and-romantic-friendships.htm Potenza, Bob. “Charles Sumner.” West End Museum. https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/west-boston/charles-sumner/ Ruchames, Louis. “Charles Sumner and American Historiography.” The Journal of Negro History , Apr., 1953, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr., 1953). https://www.jstor.org/stable/2715536 Senate Historical Office. “Senate Stories | Charles Sumner: After the Caning.” United States Senate. 5/4/2020. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/charles-sumner-after-the-caning.htm Sinha, Manisha. “The Caning of Charles Sumner: Slavery, Race, and Ideology in the Age of the Civil War.” Journal of the Early Republic , Summer, 2003, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Summer, 2003). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3125037 Sumner, Charles. “Barbarism of Slavery.” 6/4/1860. https://dotcw.com/documents/barbarism_of_slavery.htm Sumner, Charles. “Freedom National; Slavery Sectional.” 8/26/1852. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Freedom_National;_Slavery_Sectional Sumner, Charles. “The equal rights of all.” Washington, Printed at the Congressional globe office. 1866. https://archive.org/details/equalrightsofall00sumn Tameez, Zaakir. “Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation.” Henry Holt and Co. 2025. United States Senate. "The Crime Against Kansas.” https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Crime_Against_Kansas.htm United States Senate. “REPORT.” 5/28/1856. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/SumnerInvestigation1856.pdf United States Senate. “The Caning of Senator Charles Sumner.” https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Caning_of_Senator_Charles_Sumner.htm Various, “Southern Newspapers Praise the Attack on Charles Sumner,” SHEC: Resources for Teachers, accessed October 31, 2025, https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/1548. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1 Dec 44min
SYMHC Classics: Public Universal Friend
This 2020 episode covers the Public Universal Friend, who described themself as a genderless spirit sent by God to inhabit the resurrected body of a woman named Jemima Wilkinson. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
29 Nov 33min
Behind the Scenes Minis: Morocco!
Tracy and Holly talk about their recent podcast trip to Morocco with listeners, arranged by Defined Destinations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
28 Nov 28min
Charles Sumner, Revisited (part 2)
The second installment of our episode on Charles Sumner picks up in the wake of his controversial antiwar speech. He next argued a school integration case before the Massachusetts supreme judicial court. Research: "Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A148425674/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=95485851. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025. “Roberts v. City of Boston, 5 Cush. 198, 59 Mass. 198 (1849).” Caselaw Access Project. Harvard Law School. https://case.law/caselaw/?reporter=mass&volume=59&case=0198-01 “The Prayer of One Hundred Thousands.” https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/PrayerofOneHundredThousand.pdf Alexander, Edward. “The Caning of Charles Sumner.” Battlefields.org. 3/6/2024. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/caning-charles-sumner Beecher, Henry Ward. “Charles Sumner.” Advocate of Peace (1847-1884) , MAY, 1874. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27905613 Berry, Stephen and James Hill Welborn III. “The Cane of His Existence Depression, Damage, and the Brooks–Sumner Affair.” Southern Cultures , Vol. 20, No. 4 (WINTER 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26217562 Boston African American National Historic Site. “Abiel Smith School.” https://www.nps.gov/boaf/learn/historyculture/abiel-smith-school.htm Boston African American National Historic Site. “The Sarah Roberts Case.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-sarah-roberts-case.htm Child, Lydia Maria. “Letters of Lydia Maria Child.” Houghton, Mifflin and Company. 1883. https://archive.org/details/lettersoflydiam00chil Commonwealth Museum. “Roberts v. The City of Boston, 1849.” https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/commonwealth-museum/exhibits/online/freedoms-agenda/freedoms-agenda-8.htm Frasure, Carl M. “Charles Sumner and the Rights of the Negro.” The Journal of Negro History , Apr., 1928, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Apr., 1928). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2713959 Gershon, Livia. “Political Divisions Led to Violence in the US Senate in 1856.” JSTOR Daily. 1/7/2021. https://daily.jstor.org/violence-in-the-senate-in-1856/ History, Art and Archives. “South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks’s Attack on Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts.” U.S. House of Representatives. https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/South-Carolina-Representative-Preston-Brooks-s-attack-on-Senator-Charles-Sumner-of-Massachusetts/ Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site. “An Era of Romantic Friendships: Sumner, Longfellow, and Howe.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/an-era-of-romantic-friendships-sumner-longfellow-and-howe.htm Lyndsay Campbell; The “Abolition Riot” Redux: Voices, Processes. The New England Quarterly 2021; 94 (1): 7–46. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/tneq_a_00877 Mahr, Michael. “Sumner vs. Cane.” National Museum of Civil War Medicine. 5/24/2023. https://www.civilwarmed.org/sumner-vs-cane/ Meriwether, Robert L. “Preston S. Brooks on the Caning of Charles Sumner.” The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine , Jan., 1951, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Jan., 1951). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27571254 Mount Auburn Cemetery. “Charles Sumner (1811-1874): U.S. Senator, Abolitionist, & Orator.” https://mountauburn.org/notable-residents/charles-sumner-1811-1874/ National Park Service. “Charles Sumner and Romantic Friendships.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/charles-sumner-and-romantic-friendships.htm Potenza, Bob. “Charles Sumner.” West End Museum. https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/west-boston/charles-sumner/ Ruchames, Louis. “Charles Sumner and American Historiography.” The Journal of Negro History , Apr., 1953, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr., 1953). https://www.jstor.org/stable/2715536 Senate Historical Office. “Senate Stories | Charles Sumner: After the Caning.” United States Senate. 5/4/2020. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/charles-sumner-after-the-caning.htm Sinha, Manisha. “The Caning of Charles Sumner: Slavery, Race, and Ideology in the Age of the Civil War.” Journal of the Early Republic , Summer, 2003, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Summer, 2003). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3125037 Sumner, Charles. “Barbarism of Slavery.” 6/4/1860. https://dotcw.com/documents/barbarism_of_slavery.htm Sumner, Charles. “Freedom National; Slavery Sectional.” 8/26/1852. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Freedom_National;_Slavery_Sectional Sumner, Charles. “The equal rights of all.” Washington, Printed at the Congressional globe office. 1866. https://archive.org/details/equalrightsofall00sumn Tameez, Zaakir. “Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation.” Henry Holt and Co. 2025. United States Senate. "The Crime Against Kansas.” https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Crime_Against_Kansas.htm United States Senate. “REPORT.” 5/28/1856. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/SumnerInvestigation1856.pdf United States Senate. “The Caning of Senator Charles Sumner.” https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Caning_of_Senator_Charles_Sumner.htm Various, “Southern Newspapers Praise the Attack on Charles Sumner,” SHEC: Resources for Teachers, accessed October 31, 2025, https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/1548. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
26 Nov 39min
