In November of 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt , dressed in hunting clothes and carrying a hunting knife and rifle, stepped from a private train onto the railroad platform of a small, rural town named Smedes, Mississippi. Immediately, he and his hosts and companions mounted saddled horses and rode off into a wild and remote wooded area of Mississippi ten miles from the nearest road.
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| Theodore Roosevelt |
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| T.R. was probably dressed something like this on his hunting trip to Mississippi. |
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| McKinley's assassination had an unexpected consequence: the making of a famous chapter in the history of toys. Had McKinley not died, T.R. would never have been in the Mississippi wilderness in 1902. |
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| Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and his pet blue macaw parrot named "Eli Yale." This photo was taken on June 17, 1902, in the White House Conservatory where this exotic bird was no doubt very much at home. |
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| This is the size of bear T.R. was looking for. |
On that last day of the hunt a pack of the party’s hunting dogs picked up the scent of a nearby bear and took off in pursuit of it, with one of the party following them through the thick brush on horseback. Roosevelt and a fellow hunter remained, mounted on their horses, in a clearing with their guns ready, waiting for the dogs to drive the bear back towards them. Hours passed as the President and his companion sweated and waited in the rising sun and temperatures of that fall day. Meanwhile, the hunter in pursuit of the bear, by now miles away, saw a small bear explode from the bushes in front of him with the pack of dogs closely in pursuit.
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| This is the size bear the scout for T.R. saw running from the bushes, pursued by a pack of hunting dogs. |
Hot and exhausted, the bear ran into a nearby pond and proceeded to fight for its life as the dogs attacked it. One dog jumped at the animal with its jaws open but was killed instantly as the bear broke the dog’s back with one blow from its paw. The lone hunter, a man named Collier, dismounted his horse and threw a lariat about the neck of the fatigued and nearly prostrate animal and carefully tied it to a tree. He then waded into the water and, using his hunting rifle as a club, he cracked the weary and frightened animal over the head, rendering it senseless and nearly comatose. Using a hunting horn to communicate his location to the President and his companion, he waited for the arrival of Roosevelt. Finally, it seemed, the President would have the opportunity to claim a trophy for himself.
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| T.R. with a trophy elk he shot during a hunting trip to the western United States. He was hoping for an equally magnificent "trophy" on his 1902 trip to the Mississippi wilderness. |
Soon, Roosevelt galloped up to the scene at full speed and quickly dismounted, pulling his rifle from its saddle holster and raised his weapon, taking aim at the bear. What he saw before him disturbed his conscience greatly. There, on the bank of the pond, stunned and bloody, caked with mud, lay a small, not yet fully grown bear who had not the strength left to resist in any way the fate awaiting it. Roosevelt paused as his gaze took in the situation materializing over the sights of his rifle. Collier prompted him to shoot. But Roosevelt slowly lowered his rifle and ordered Collier to release the bear. He then silently put his gun back into its saddle holster, mounted his horse and rode back to camp. He could not bring himself to shoot a helpless, immature animal. He had too much reverence for the wilderness, and the animals who lived in it, to engage in a meaningless act of killing for killing's sake. Later in the day he was asked by reporters about his reasons for not shooting the bear that had been tracked and found for him. He replied by saying, “I draw the line. If I had shot that little fellow, I couldn’t look my own sons in the face again. I do not shoot little baby bears.”
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| Mural on display in Smedes, Mississippi, commemorating the hunt for the black bear which took place nearby in 1902. Note the small bear being held by other hunters on the left, T.R. being seated on his horse at the center of the picture. |
On November 16th, 1902, an editorial cartoon and an accompanying article appeared in the Washington Post newspaper. The cartoon pictured Roosevelt, dressed in hunting gear and armed with a rifle, sparing the bear cub’s life – it was titled “Drawing the Line.” Readers were delighted and proud of their President when they read of his reprieve of the helpless animal’s life in the wilderness of Mississippi. His words struck an emotional chord in the souls of people all over the United States. Daily reports of the President’s frustrating hunt had appeared in newspapers across the country. But when news of the President’s high-minded and generous gesture spread across the land his popularity soared.
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| The November 16th, 1902, Washington Post editorial cartoon titled "Drawing the Line." |
A Brooklyn, New York, candy maker named Morris Michtom decided to do something to commemorate the event and honor the President. He asked his wife Rose to create a stuffed bear, and she made one from extra pieces of plush mohair material, with shoe button eyes and embroidered detail for the mouth. Snout, ears, moveable arms and legs, all were a part of this original version/prototype. On November 21st, 1902, after his wife had put the finishing touches on the animal, he took it to his candy store and, in his store’s front window, placed the bear on top of a mountain of wrapped chocolate candies. Next to the display he placed a hand printed card with the words “Teddy Bear” on it.
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| Morris Michtom owned a candy store in 1902. |
Customers and passersby loved the display and people came from great distances to see the new and unique item in the candy store window. Legend has it that Mr. Michtom asked his wife Rose to produce copies of the original bear to sell to customers in his candy store who had offered to buy the bear from him. But, he wondered, would not the President be offended at the use of his name, without permission, on a commercial product? So Michtom took the bear out of the store’s window, packed it into an old candy box along with a letter to President Roosevelt and mailed it to the White House. Michtom wrote, “Dear Mr. President: I do not wish to seem disrespectful, but I would like to call my toy ‘Teddy’s Bear.’” The President was charmed by the cuddly stuffed animal and responded to Michtom by writing, “I don’t think my name is worth much to the toy bear cub business, but you are welcome to use it.”
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| Replica of the original bear created by Mrs. Rose Michtom in 1902. (The red bow was not on the original) |
The Michtoms immediately began producing “Teddy Bears” to sell in their candy shop for $1.50 each. The new item became so popular that the couple decided to close their candy store and enter the toy business with the “Teddy Bear” as their first creation. The ex-candy store eventually became the headquarters of the Ideal Toy Company which became quite successful.
1950s Ideal Toy Company TV commercial.
The Teddy Bear was just the beginning.
The Michtoms presented one of their first bears to Roosevelt’s son Kermit and that very bear is on display at the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of American History in Washington, D.C..
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| Kermit Roosevelt received one of the first "teddy bears." |
The “Teddy Bear” was an immediate sensation and a fever of “bear mania” swept the United States. Bear hatpins and tie pins were worn by men and women. Women wore necklaces of small bear figures around their necks. Teddy bear watch chains appeared on men’s waistcoats, and the Teddy Bear also made its appearance on Easter and Christmas cards in the years that followed. Toy and department stores had virtual mountains of Teddy Bears quickly shrink and disappear in the frenzy sweeping the nation.
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| Original antique "teddy bear" necklace. |
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| Even today, teddy bears are still made into a fashion statement. This "teddy bear jacket" is quite eye-catching. |
Two popular songs created as a result of this preoccupation with the new toy were “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic” and “Teddy Bear Blues.” (1922) And to forever solidify the connection between the cuddly, comforting Teddy Bear and children everywhere, mothers, for years afterward, quietly sang their children to sleep with a soothing song called “The Teddy Bear’s Lullaby.” Teddy Bears became a symbol of hugs and happiness, of contentment and love. So it was not surprising that in 1957 Elvis Presley recorded one of his biggest hits, "Teddy Bear." In it, he tells a young lady, "Oh, let me be, Oh let me be, your teddy bear, ...I just want to be your teddy bear." It was an invitation millions of girls could not resist. Here it is:
John Lennon said, "Before Elvis there was nothing."
John Lennon will appear later in this post.
SLIGHT DIGRESSION:
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| Smokey and his signature phrase. |
Here's a TV public service announcement
that tries to make Smokey the Bear
relevant to today's youth.
that tries to make Smokey the Bear
relevant to today's youth.
And then there are two old popular cartoon characters, Yogi Bear and his friend BooBoo. In this short public service announcement they mention their "good friend Smokey the Bear."
END OF DIGRESSION.
WRAPPING IT UP.
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| "To sleep, perchance to dream...," William Shakespeare |
Every night when the world goes to sleep, millions of children are comforted by this plush and furry friend which, in their wonderful imaginations, embodies all the goodness, loyalty, trust and contentment they wish to have present in the world around them during their waking hours. The teddy bear has come to represent something to many adults as well: our childhood dreams, hopes and optimism. It strikes grown-ups with a wave of nostalgia for our innocence and youthful happiness. So I will end with a video that, in my mind, reflects the nostalgia I have just spoken of. Grab the nearest teddy bear and watch this clip. Enjoy! (Click on the "play" icon, and then click on "watch on You Tube.")
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| To all the teddy bears that were, are and will be, thank you. And thank you T.R., and Morris and Rose Michtom. Good night and sweet dreams. |
(2012)
FINIS.
FINIS.