Teddy Bears were wildly popular in 1906, within the depiction period of the Greene General Store in the Historical Village at The Crossroads, but the Door County Historical Society could never afford to buy a authentic antique teddy bear from that year.
To anyone alive today, teddy bears have always been. For many of us, these cinnamon-colored stuffed bears were probably the first and most loved toy.. So it is easy to imagine that teddy bears have always been…that Door County pioneer toddlers dragged them around their log cabins. But truth is the teddy bear came to be in 1902. And the first was a live black bear.
It seems that in 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt, and avid outdoors-man, was on a hunting trip in the state of Mississippi, and he wasn’t having much luck. In fact, after three vigorous days, the President was skunked. We don’t know how he was feeling, but his hunting guides apparently were frustrated. So the sent out their hunting dogs. The dogs located an old bear and chased it to the point of exhaustion. According to some accounts, the dogs actually injured the bear. At any rate, the guides were able catch the bear and tie it a tree.
The President was rushed to the site and invited to shoot the bear. Roosevelt was appalled, stoutly proclaiming “Spare the bear! I will not shoot a tethered animal.”
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Somehow, the media jumped on the story, which inspired a cartoonist Clifford Berryman to draw Teddy Roosevelt, his gun, and the bear, with the caption: “Drawing the Line in Mississippi,” apparently a reference to a political dispute of the time. The cartoon was a big hit, so Berryman just kept drawing Teddy Roosevelt and the bear, but with each rendition, the bear got smaller and cuter.
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, Morris and Rose Michtom created a clever display for the window of their novelty store. The couple fashioned a soft bear toy, and placed it in the window with the cartoon and a label: ‘Teddy’s Bear.” Well, the bear was a hit so, with permission of the President, the Michtoms started selling Teddy Bears. A German company started making plush bears as well, and by 1906, the fad began….and has never really died.
Much of what we take for granted, besides Teddy Bears, things like National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, the Conservation movement and the Panama Canal can be traced to Theodore Roosevelt. So in February, Crossroads and the Door County Historical Society will collaborate to offer a book study of David McCullough’s Mornings on Horseback, a biography of Theodore Roosevelt.
Sessions will be held in the Collins Learning Center under the leadership of Historical Village Director, Dan Olson. The book relates the remarkable story a little boy, seriously handicapped by recurrent and almost fatal asthma attacks, who grew into manhood and became one of the 20th Century’s most notable politicians and humanitarians. The very readable McCullough biography is without equal. Those interested may contact Dan Olson by email at dgolson45@yahoo.com; or call 920-559-2050. The time will be arranged to meet the scheduling needs of the participants.
