V1.D32d 10/12/2026 8:28 pm
The Story of our Blackie and Tiger
The Other Blackie and Tiger
They lived in the White House in 1923, over a hundred years ago
Tiger (Tige) – "Blacky and I were the first of the Coolidge cats to live in the White House. President Coolidge liked to wear me around his neck. I loved to explore, and the first time that I escaped, I went all the way to the Lincoln memorial! The Coolidges made me a beautiful collar with my name and “The White House” engraved on it. I disappeared from the White House shortly after, and some people think that my collar was a tempting souvenir for people."
Blacky – "After Tige disappeared; I stuck around the White House for a few more years. I was more of a hunter, and would often bring home presents of what I caught. Mrs. Coolidge didn’t like this very much, so I spent much of my time in the guardhouse. When I was allowed in the house, I didn’t like to hang out with the Coolidges as much as I liked to be in the kitchen."
On Willow St in the 1970's, a stray cat had kittens outdoors. There were about four of them. We took pity on them and brought them into the basement to get them out of the elements. All but two of the cats passed away. We took them to the vet to be examined. Tiger was the largest and healthiest kitten. Blackie had issues with his eyes among other things. The vet gave him eye medicine and gave them their shots.
We had taken Blackie and Tiger upstairs to our apartment and they became a part of the family. The rental agreement on Willow St said that no pets were allowed. We were all concerned that we would be evicted, so we started talking about getting our own house so we could keep them. Afordability was an issue, so we worked out what our parents could afford and shopped for houses in that price range. We decided that a two family house would make home ownership more affordable.
We found a two family house on Summerfield Ave that seemed ideal. We moved there with Blackie and Tiger in 1975. Tiger was D's cat. Blackie liked to suck on his paw and would answer the phone when it rang. We think the ringing bothered his ears. Then our parents moved to Monroe in 1988. Blackie and Tiger lived out their remaining years there. Ultimately, it was Blackie and Tiger who get the credit for our parents' new home in Monroe.