First Turkey competition narrows down to top 10
November 24, 1996
Web posted at: 7:20 p.m. EST
From CNN affiliate WTLW
FORT RECOVERY, Ohio -- Ten finalists have been selected in
the competition for the Official First Turkey of the United
States. The judges' criteria are strict:
- A good voice (nothing to gobble about).
- A good runway walk is, of course, necessary for a high
score.
- And even though beauty may be only feather-deep, the way
they look is still important.
- There is no gender discrimination in the contest. Males
may even have an advantage, since they can polish their
mustaches.
But the glamour, and feed, doesn't come without a price. The
contestants still have to answer those tough questions, such
as, "If you were stuck on a desert island and could only take
two people, who would you take?" Just kidding. We can't
interpret turkey gobbles.
The training is also very rigorous. "Expert dietitians" have
raised the birds since their birth last April.
"They get up every morning even before school when school
started here, and clean the birds and clean the fountain,
make sure the litter is nice," Carl Link, the manager of
Cooper Hatchery, said of the youths who raised the gaggle.
Why is appearance key in a turkey competition? These birds,
like any beauty pageant winners, are for show, not the
butchers' knife. The winner and the first runner-up will fly
to Washington, D.C., next week -- in a plane, not by
themselves. The president of Cooper Hatchery will present
the winner to President Clinton.
The young turkey proprietors know that their turkeys' fate is
unusual, but they don't mind. "I'm kind of glad that they're
going to a petting zoo, and not getting butchered," said Joe
Osterholt.
The turkeys will spend the next year making appearances
around the farm in Virginia. Meanwhile, the turkey tradition
will continue here at Cooper Hatchery, keeping the country's
turkeys from going to the birds.
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