As is the custom, President Bush is expected to pardon a turkey on the eve of Thanksgiving during a ceremony at the White House. With the exception of last year's honoree, for the past 15 years, turkeys pardoned by the president have gone on to live out their days "in the Frying Pan."
Where did this unusual custom originate? While no one knows for sure, American folklore recounts an incident in 1863, during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. A live turkey was sent to the White House slated to become the Lincolns' holiday dinner. 10-year-old Tad Lincoln, the president's son, befriended the turkey and named him Jack. When it came time for Jack to give his life for the Thanksgiving meal, it is said that Tad burst in on a cabinet meeting and asked his father to spare Jack's life. President Lincoln pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a short note to the White House "executioner" advising him to set the turkey free.
So how does the process work? In the month of April, about 2,500 turkey toms are hatched. For the most part, these male turkeys are born to appear on Thanksgiving dinner tables. For the next four months, they are raised in an air-conditioned barn, reposing on beds of fresh, clean sawdust. By the time August rolls around, the majority of the turkeys have reached about 25 pounds or 11 kilograms. At this point, six to 10 of the biggest and the best from the group are nominated as presidential pardon candidates and moved to a separate building.
On the day before Thanksgiving, the turkeys are escorted into Washington, DC, for an all-expenses-paid stay on the top floor of the Hotel Washington overlooking the White House. The next morning, they are driven to the White House lawn, where the ceremony will take place. After some pomp and circumstance and a few corny jokes, the president speaks the words that both turkeys have waited their entire lives to hear: "By virtue of an unconditional presidential pardon..." And voila! Both the winner and the first runner-up are spared. In the past, the president used to pick up the turkey for a photo op; however, the close encounter didn't go so well at one ceremony that took place during the Reagan administration. In order to avoid dealing with another hysterical bird, these days the turkey just receives a pat on the head.
Since 2003, the American public has been allowed to vote for pardoned turkeys' names on the White House website. In 2003, the names Stars and Stripes won out. In 2004, the turkeys were dubbed Biscuit and Gravy, and in 2005, President Bush pardoned Marshmallow and Yam. And these last two toms from Henning, MN, enjoyed a special treat. Instead of taking a trip to Frying Pan Park after their release, they were flown nonstop to Disneyland, where they served as honorary grand marshals for Disneyland's Thanksgiving Day parade. After that, Marshmallow and Yam retired to quiet lives on a Disneyland ranch.
Visitors to Frying Pan Park may be disappointed to find that there is not a flock of previously pardoned turkeys enjoying life in rural Virginia. While the maximum recorded lifespan for a turkey in captivity is 12 years and four months, sadly, domestic turkeys bred for consumption rarely live for more than one year. These male turkeys often grow too large and too heavy to carry their own weight after the first year and usually die before the arrival of the next presidential honoree. Farmer Todd Brown of Kidwell Farm gives the turkeys proper burials on the park's 98-acre property.
