President Lincoln is enshrined not only in the Lincoln Memorial, but also in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In his youth, America’s 16th president was a lean, mean, wrestling machine, who fought in anywhere from dozens to more than 300 bouts, and lost only once. Below are twenty three things about that and other fascinating but lesser known facts about American presidents.
23. President Wilson’s Sheep
Americans of all stripes tried to do their bit and demonstrate their support for the war effort during World War I. In those days, that involved more than simply slapping a “Support the Troops!” bumper sticker on a car. War bonds drives were organized, donations were collected from the patriotic, and scrap metal was gathered. The White House participated, and for some time, starting in 1918, visitors got to see President Woodrow Wilson’s residence transformed into a sheep ranching operation. The idea behind raising sheep on the White House Lawn was to save manpower. The sheep would trim the lawn, and the manpower thus saved could be redirected toward the war effort. The sheep performed another patriotic service: the President donated their wool to the American Red Cross, which apportioned it among the various states’ Red Cross chapters.
At patriotic auctions, the White House wool brought in as much as $10,000 a pound. However, few knew just how much of a hassle it was to keep sheep on White House grounds. It began in the spring of 1918, as the president motored around the countryside with a friend, and remarked that he would like to see some sheep at the White House. It sounds odd now, but it was not that odd a century ago. Wilson and his wife wanted to be the model family for supporting the war effort. Indeed, over the next two years, wool sheared from the White House’s sheep yielded $52,000 for the American Red Cross at auction – a princely sum back then. However, as seen below, it was not all smooth sailing.
