Ack when I was twelve, my best mate Shane and I spent almost all of our summer weekends camping in the thick woods behind my folks’s farm house. While we imagined we were living off the fat of the land, we were actually living off the pantry of my dad : a few times a day we’d go to the house, a mere quarter mile away, share a meal with my folks, and stock up on chips, nibbles and thermosfuls of sweet iced-tea. We woke early one morning and set upon the task of fishing.
If we were fortunate we could catch some fish before going on up to the house for breakfast. It was regarded as a tranquil day and we were enjoying the silence till we were annoyed by the commotion of something moving in the woods. Quiet at first but increasingly louder, the raucous noise quickly proved to be nothing than my younger sister, all of 7, traipsing loudly down the trail from the house. “Fine,” she recounted, sticking her tongue out at the 2 of us. “And she turned and tromped back up the trail louder than previously. Shane and I ran down the trail, towards the noise, going simply a short distance before seeing my sister who was ripping back down the trail towards us.
“What’s the matter?” Shane asked, putting his arm around her shoulder. “I saw a bear,” she sniffled between tears and pointed down the trail. Without saying anything, I ran back to the tent to have a look for anything even remotely helpful to bear-catching. The best I could do was a fishing pole and an old armed forces blanket. The toy bear came to being when President Theodore Roosevelt declined to shot a black bear held captive by his hunting party. Also worth realizing is that President Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot this captive bear changed into a very talked-about political cartoon by Cliff Barryman.
A Brooklyn shopkeeper was galvanized by the cartoon. The shopkeeper then asked President Rosevelt his authorization to name a toy bear “Teddy”.
It is also worth realizing the bear was born in Germany between 1902 and 1903.
Now teddy bears are still the no 1 item to give babies as their first toy, the prize to win your girl on your first date, and most significantly, the toy of choice for law enforcement to give to youngsters in unhappy, dangerous scenarios to help them relax and feel safe. A collectible toy bear is extraordinarily different than the characteristic store bought teddy that you could give a kid. Big game hunting. I raced back to where Michelle and Shane were waiting. “Okay,” I claimed, “show us where this bear is.