36. The Weird White House Sheep Experiment
During World War I, just about everybody on the home front tried to do their bit of declaring and signaling their support for the war effort. Back then, that entailed 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 was not immune, and for some time, starting in 1918, visitors were greeted with the weird sight of seeing the President’s abode 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, little did passersby know how much of a hassle was involved in keeping the sheep on White House grounds.
