116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Pass the Legislation, Hold the Turkey
Iowa Governor Robert Ray and his wife Billie talk to "I.T." (Iowa Turkey) at Terrace Hill in Des Moines on November 19, 1982, where the Iowa Turkey Growers Association presented the 25-pound bird for the First Family's Thanksgiving dinner. After "talking" to I.T., Billie Ray announced that although their family would have a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving, it would not be I.T.
The Rays were the first governor's family to take up residence at Terrace Hill, a mansion formerly owned by the Frederick Hubbell estate. The estate donated the home to the State of Iowa in 1971 and the Ray family moved in on October 17, 1976. Robert D. Ray was governor of Iowa from 1969-1983.
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