On November 15, 2024, President Joe Biden pardoned his last pair of turkeys as President of the United States. He addressed the turkeys, Peach and Blossom, as well as a crowd of 2,500 people on the South Lawn and audiences across America. He is not, however, the President we are appealing to in this editorial. President Brian Lenzmeier, we have a request.
The history of the Presidential turkey pardoning is cloudy. The story originally goes that President Lincoln was the first to pardon a turkey, because his son, Tad, took a liking to it and didn’t want it to be eaten. According to the White House Historical Association this is more of a tall tale than anything else. What they do tell us is that the gifts of poultry to the White House have been around since the 1870s. Some (including past presidents) have cited Former President Harry Truman to be the first to officially “pardon” a turkey. While it’s true that he received two turkeys, he specifically said that they would “come in handy” for Christmas dinner. Far from a pardon. The officially sanctioned White House event was started by President George H. W. Bush, but some still hesitate to attribute him with a title of “first”.
The system has been streamlined a bit since then. The source of the “Presidential Flock” of turkeys is designated by the National Turkey Federation. Two turkeys are chosen from the flock, then named by the White House, commonly picked from public suggestions. They undergo training to sensitize them to sounds and lights they may encounter during their celebrity lives. Then, they’re presented to the public as the National Thanksgiving Turkey and its counterpart, the alternate. Don’t worry, though, the title of National Turkey is more of a formality- nowadays, both turkeys are spared.
This year, President Biden used his pardoning speech to not only make a few puns but to send a message to the American people of unity and forward momentum. History may read it as the whimsy of a child wishing to spare an animal he cares, or the offhanded remark of a President receiving a traditional gift. However, while the turkeys may be the headliner, this tradition is more than just sending a couple of birds to parks and petting zoos.
So why not us? Iowa has been the host of the Presidential Flock for 3 years out of the past 18. In fact, in 2016, the turkeys Tater and Tot came from the Domino family farm, right near Storm Lake. In contrast to the messy history of the White House event, we have an opportunity to create a defined “first” for BVU. President Brian Lenzmeier could go down in the history books (as well as the Tack) as the first BVU President to pardon a pair of holiday turkeys. The questions of names are not an issue- this week’s Tack poll has suggestions for the public to weigh in.
President Lenzmeier, you have a chance to start a BVU tradition that could outlive all of us. Pardon some turkeys, and who knows, maybe years down the road a future president will pardon turkeys Brian and Lenzmeier, named after the definitive founder of the BVU holiday turkey pardoning. We won’t know if we don’t try.
