Bush Acknowledges Thanksgiving Claim but Won't Pardon Pig
By Brigid Schulte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The sting of years of obscurity and wounded pride for Virginia and its claim as the site of the first Thanksgiving in the New World -- which no one in this Pilgrim-besotted country has ever paid much attention to -- got a bit of balm yesterday. No less than President Bush paid a visit to Berkeley Plantation on the James River and acknowledged this long-neglected part of Virginia's history.
"Berkeley claims to be the site of America's first official Thanksgiving. The good folks here say that the founders of Berkeley held their celebration before the Pilgrims had even left port," Bush said as the crowd of 500 erupted in wild applause and hoots. "As you can imagine, this version of events is not very popular up north."
Up north is where most influential early Colonial historians lived and wrote extensively about the Mayflower landing at Plymouth Rock. Up north is where President Abraham Lincoln, in the middle of the Civil War, sought to bring the country together by creating a national holiday, to be called Thanksgiving. And thus the great harvest feast of turkey, pumpkins, corn, beans and squash that the pious Pilgrim families shared with their friendly native neighbors was enshrined as the official American story. (It's not like Lincoln was going to pick a site in the enemy land of Virginia.)
Bush was careful yesterday not to pick sides in Virginia's long battle for Thanksgiving primacy. Virginians, in historical writings and in forceful op-eds, including one by former Democratic governor Gerald L. Baliles this month, assert that their Thanksgiving in 1619 was a full year and 17 days before the Massachusetts version.
"Even the administration of President Kennedy -- a son of Massachusetts -- recognized Berkeley's role in this important holiday," Bush said.
In fact, Virginia's only other moment in the spotlight came in 1963, when Kennedy mentioned the celebrations in "both Virginia and Massachusetts" in his Thanksgiving address.
"This is something that we've all worked for for so many years, to get history corrected," said an overcome Malcom "Jamie" Jamieson, Berkeley Plantation owner. "This is really going to put the seal of approval on it."
So how did Virginia finally get some measure of vindication?
In truth, it's due, in part, to a pig named Ginny.
First, let's back up.
In the Virginia story, recounted yesterday by Bush, Capt. John Woodlief, a survivor of the Jamestown settlement's "starving time" who had returned to England, set sail from Bristol with 37 other settlers on the good ship Margaret to seek their fortune in the New World. After a violent storm blew them off course, they waded ashore Dec. 4, 1619 at what is now Berkeley Plantation. They opened their orders from their backers, which stated that they were to drop to their knees immediately and give thanks. Their landing date was to "be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God."
No one knows if they had anything other than old ship rations to eat. Historians surmise that they might have supped on roasted oysters and Virginia ham. The settlers didn't stick around long enough to write it down or develop a tradition: They were wiped out in a Powhatan Indian uprising in 1622. From there, the Virginia Thanksgiving story faded from view, save for a handful of die-hard groups that have been hosting a celebration at Berkeley for decades.
"Few Americans remember much about Berkeley," Bush said yesterday. "They don't know the story of the Berkeley Thanksgiving."
Enter New Jersey native and children's author Lisa Suhay.
When Suhay moved to Virginia Beach five years ago, her children came home from school with tales of Virginia's first Thanksgiving. She was incensed and set out to prove that their teachers were wrong. Instead, she found out that they were right. So she wrote a children's book about the experience. In it, a little boy who discovers the truth about the first Thanksgiving being in Virginia celebrates with ham. He sets about starting a petition to get the president of the United States to pardon not just a turkey, as the president has every year for 60 years -- Bush plans to pardon two turkeys today -- but also a pig. Thus, the book, "Pardon Me, It's Ham, Not Turkey."
Suhay's 8-year-old son wanted to know why they couldn't do the same thing.
So they did.
More than 6,000 people from across the state have signed a petition to get Bush to pardon a pig today. Suhay even found a pig to pardon, an 80-pound spotted pig named Ginny, who resides at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon.
Suhay set up a Web site, http://pigpardon.com, and traveled the state all year, holding pig kissing contests and enticing various local officials to pardon the pig. Jim Cosgrove even wrote a country song. ("Pig pardon in the Rose Garden/Wouldn't that be great? Pig pardon in the Rose Garden/Let's set that story straight.") And with every e-mail of support, she hounded White House officials.
"The timing is just right," Suhay said. "It's the Jamestown 400th anniversary. It's the 60th anniversary of the turkey pardon. And it's the Year of the Pig. As a matter of fact, President Bush was born in the Year of the Fire Pig. So that's supposed to bring all kinds of good luck."
As part of her Virginia First Thanksgiving/Pig Pardon campaign, Suhay faxed White House officials the Nov. 4 op-ed piece written by Baliles. They called her a week later asking for more historic details.
The next day, Bush announced that he'd be going to Berkeley to make his first ever Thanksgiving address.
Suhay continued to press officials about a pig pardon. President John F. Kennedy pardoned a ferret named Mr. Magoo, she said, and if his legacy could survive that, surely Bush's would survive a pardon for a pig.
"We're not saying don't pardon the turkey. We're just asking for equal time," Suhay said. "It's not like this is some slippery slope where they'll be asked to pardon a zebra next year."
So will Bush pardon the pig?
"The president is going to continue the historic tradition of pardoning a turkey," said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore.
No pig?
"No. He's focused on the turkey."
Still, after all of yesterday's hoopla, Virginia's Thanksgiving may indeed be more widely recognized as first. But a century of Massachusetts tradition will be hard to supplant, even at Berkeley Plantation, where turkey biscuits with cranberry were served yesterday. Not a ham in sight.
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