Turkey Survives, Holiday Tree Arrives at the White House

WASHINGTON —  Upholding a 50-year White House tradition, President Clinton pardoned a 65-pound turkey Wednesday, sparing it from becoming Thanksgiving dinner like many of its kind.

Hoarse from his 12-day trip to Asia and Australia, Clinton granted the pardon in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden and then headed for the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland for the holiday weekend. The president has been ordered by his doctor to rest his vocal cords, badly strained during the trip.

“Tomorrow, 45 million turkeys will pay the supreme sacrifice for our Thanksgiving,” Clinton said at the pardon ceremony.

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“So, continuing a tradition begun 50 years ago by President Truman, I am going to keep one turkey off of the Thanksgiving dinner table by giving pardon to a turkey from Ohio that will now go to a petting zoo,” he added.

“We can all be grateful, therefore, that there will be one less turkey in Washington, D.C., tomorrow,” he added.

The turkey, presented to Clinton by the National Turkey Federation and named Carl, was raised by an Ohio family with four children. It was driven to Washington on Tuesday and spent the night in a hotel along with an alternate brought along in case of mishap.

Both Carl and the alternate, which was not named, will be sent to Kidwell Farm’s petting zoo in Herndon, Va.

In another long-standing White House tradition, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton accepted the White House Christmas tree in a separate ceremony Wednesday.

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The first lady, in a bright red coat, stood near the South Portico of the White House. A team of two horses, their harnesses splashed with red ribbons, pulled a wagon up to the door. The delivery: the 18 1/2-foot Colorado spruce from Ohio that will be the centerpiece of the central Blue Room when the White House Christmas decorations are thrown open to the public next week.

The tree is from the Christmas tree farm of Kenneth and Joan Scheetz of Coshocton, Ohio.

It was selected the grand champion tree of the year last summer by the National Christmas Tree Assn.

“We’re going to shut the White House down [for decoration] as we always do,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Volunteers from around the country will work literally around the clock over the weekend to get everything ready.”