HARDINGS TO TURN GATOR LOOSE ON WHITE HOUSE GROUNDS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 9, 1921, the Evening Star published a front page story about what President-elect Warren G. Harding "would turn loose" on the White House grounds after his inauguration.
The article reads...
"Because of the fondness of Senator and Mrs. Harding for dogs, it had been supposed that this animal would again come into his own at the White House, but this...was found to be wrong today when it was learned that an alligator is going to be introduced to the White House grounds for the first time."
Senator Park Trammell* of Florida was the source of information for the Star's article as he said that the President-elect had accepted "a fair sized alligator" from Henry M. Bennett of Jacksonville.
The Hardings' gator may not have been the first at the White House according to David Emery. He writes that John Quincy Adams and Herbert Hoover "kept alligators at pets" while Benjamin Harrison returned to Washington from a Florida vacation bringing along two alligators.
Harry Truman said, "If you want to have a friend in Washington, get a dog." Perhaps a good alternative would be a gator.
*Park Monroe Trammell (1876-1936) was born in Macon County, AL & served in the US Army in 1898. PMT was educated at Vanderbilt & Cumberland universities. He served as Florida's Attorney General, Governor and United States Senator.
SOURCES
"Alligator To Take Place Of Former White House Pets," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., February 9, 1921, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"Were Alligators Ever Kept as White House Pets," by David Emery, February 19, 2018, Snopes, www.snopes.com/
