Presidential Pet, Mrs. Coolidge

by Science Source

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Presidential Pet, Mrs. Coolidge

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Science Source

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Photograph - Photograph

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Mrs. Calvin Coolidge holding her pet raccoon Rebecca. Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge (January 3, 1879 - July 8, 1957) was the wife of Calvin Coolidge and First Lady of the United States from 1923 to 1929. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 1902, where she was a founding member of the Beta chapter of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She then joined the faculty of the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts, as a lip reading instructor. She married Calvin Coolidge in 1905. She may be credited a full share in her husband's rise in politics. She took her part in town activities, attended her church, and offset his shyness with a cheery friendliness. As First Lady, she was a popular hostess. The social highlight of the Coolidge years was the party for Charles Lindbergh following his transatlantic flight in 1927. The Coolidges were a particularly devoted couple, although the president never discussed state matters with her. She did not even know that he had decided not to seek re-election in 1928 until he announced it to the press. She received a gold medal from the National Institute of Social Science. In 1931 she was voted one of America's twelve greatest living women. Calvin Coolidge summed up his marriage to Grace in his autobiography "For almost a quarter of a century she has borne with my infirmities, and I have rejoiced in her graces." After her husband's death, she continued her work on behalf of the deaf. She was also active in the Red Cross, civil defense, and scrap drives during World War II. She kept her sense of fun and her aversion to publicity until her death in 1957 at the age of 78. National Photo Company, circa 1921-23.

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April 25th, 2016

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