While hundreds of thousands of people clamored to get into Tuesday's inaugural events, a Janesville company took part in the festivities without even knowing it. Here's how a Stateline pheasant farm served up a part of history.

The MacFarlane family has been raising pheasants in Janesville since 1929, but they're never had an ad. campaign quite like this before: "We're already marketing it, saying our pheasant's served to the president," says Mary Jo Bergs, Sales and Marketing Director for MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc.

The game birds raised on the farm were part of the main course for President Barack Obama's inaugural lunch.

"To know that that was his first meal as president of the United States, that's just really cool," says Bergs.

But it took some digging to find that out. Bergs started getting Google alerts from articles saying pheasant was on the menu and when she read the birds came from Wisconsin... "That's when it all really gelled that I needed to call the distributer again and say, OK, please confirm this is ours!" ... and they did.

"It was kind of a wahoo moment!"

Bergs says everyone at MacFarlane is bursting with pride that their product was considered the best in the country and worthy of President Obama's first meal. But it's also an overwhelming feeling.

"To be at such an auspicious event in any way shape or form, whether you're in the foreground or the background is just really a humbling experience," says Bergs.

So while they didn't catch a glimpse of the first couple, MacFarlane employees are proud to be home to America's first birds.

Bergs says there's extra pride in providing the highest quality pheasant, because it takes a lot longer to raise a pheasant than other poultry, like chickens. She adds her job as marketing director will be easier now that she can say if it's good enough for the president, it's probably good enough for anyone.

MacFarlane Pheasants distributes both packaged meat and pheasant chicks all over the country and overseas in the UK. If you want a taste of the inaugural treat, you can order online at www.pheasant.com.