When teddy bears first walked the earth

[+ friendofsheila]

I'm reading actor Peter Bull's book "Bear with Me" about teddy bear collectors.

 

http://en.wikicollecting.org/image:bull

 

Besides the personal stories of people and their bears, it also talks about the history. Like a lot of stuff like this, there are multiple people who claim to have made the first. But no one disputes them being named after Teddy Roosevelt.

 

 

I don't remember having any special affection for a teddy bear. I did have one at first, but it became part of a collection of toy animals. I can only remember a ratty poodle (from a yard sale) and a pretty unconvincing squirrel being part of the collection.

 

Notable, though, was one bear I acquired as a teen. Back then, there was a new rage for bears that were posed to sit back "on their haunches". I had one polar bear, one panda, and was getting a brown one. The brown one was part of some promotion by Pine Sol, so I'm guessing I sent in a bunch of labels or something.

 

The brown one arrived and it was like somebody had cut a hole in the box, proceeded to smoke five cigars and exhale their every breath into that hole. The silly thing stank to high heaven; it took a lot of vacuuming and baking soda until it no longer smelled like a room full of burning El Ropos.

 

Any notable bears in your past?

[unsub2O17]

Yes! There was "Teddy Freddy Bear" (brown with a yellow tummy--loved his eyes and nose) and Lorraine Jane Dog (a bright pink poodle with floppy ears). Slept with these two for about 3 years. Haven't thought about them in decades, but I miss the way I felt with them.

[+ purplekow]

Still have my childhood bear. It is, like me, beaten and torn and not nearly in the shape it once was, but still good for a good cuddle now and again. It sits atop an armoire with a red bear from my wife's childhood. Her bear is in much better condition and it is, like my memory of her, quite beautiful in a sassy and sexy way.

My wife and I also had a bride and groom bear sitting on the altar when we got married. Each held one of our wedding rings. Yes, they were our ring bears. Please do not groan.

[gallahadesquire]

I had a dog that was supposed to be for sitting upon when one watched TV. I cuddled him in bed, and created my obligate left-sided antecubital sleeping position. He had been reupholstered by my grandmother, with red corduroy for his body and recycled stockings for his feet. At the age of 48 or so, I finally threw him out. But it took about six years to be able to do that.

[rvwnsd]

...My wife and I also had a bride and groom bear sitting on the altar when we got married. Each held one of our wedding rings. Yes, they were our ring bears. Please do not groan.

 

Groan? I think it is adorable. What a nice memory.

 

...Any notable bears in your past?

 

I LOVED my teddy bear and I still have him. My brother, on the other hand, was partial to his "pucky dog." I have his teddy bear, too.

 

When I was little, Harris Bank was giving away Hubert The Lion dolls when you opened an account. Hubert was their mascot and I wanted one. My mom worked for the competition, so there was no chance we were switching banks. When I was in my 30's, they started giving away Hubert banks. I made a beeline to Harris Bank to open an account. Hubert and Teddy sit next to each other on a shelf in my den.

[Becket]

I had a teddy bear as a child. It made a growling sound when tilted upside down so I called him "growly bear." One day I got mad at him and dumped him in a garbage can full of water. After that, growly bear growled no more. Years later my mother mentioned to me that the bear was made by a company called Steiff, and that the bear would have been somewhat valuable to certain collectors if I hadn't drowned him years before. I remembered this story each Christmas as I watched my own children open their presents, and then proceed to have more fun playing with the packing and wrapping material than the toy itself. What I remembered was to not waste money buying fancy toys for kids. But I still have "growly bear", who has for years sat silently on a shelf in my closet. He is a connection to my childhood and reminds me how fortunate I was to grow up being loved and nurtured. Many of our escort friends grew up in circumstances that were far from ideal. Some had no teddy bears in their lives. As clients we would do well to be a little more patient with escorts who fail to meet our every need. Don't get me wrong; I am as picky a client as anybody. But all of us are products of childhood experiences. Sometimes it ain't easy, bro.

[seeker630]

The only stuffed animal I had as a child was a stuffed 'Smokey the Bear" - he wore a pair of jeans and forest ranger's hat and had a shovel. I have no memory of what happened to him.

 

Currently I have several bears, a lizard and a pocupine atop my bedroom chest-of-drawers - gifts from a close friend or my sister years ago.

[+ Gar1eth]

I had a stuffed monkey. He looked similar to this but not exactly.

 

http://thumbs2.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mjjXbxG_3UBCa28vZdDLMTA.jpg

 

Mine was cuter than this picture though. He had several names, but his main name was Junior. Junior was my favorite name at the time-I was going to name one of my future (still non-existent and likely to remain that way ) children.

 

I remember one time when I was about 5 or 6. We were visiting my grandparents and were packing to leave. All of a sudden as we are about to leave, we see a hand sticking up out of the closed trunk. I think I became a bit excited. My Dad opened up the trunk-turned out it wasn't a human arm, but the arm of my monkey.

 

I was really attached to Junior. I was so attached that, if I remember correctly, when I was about 9, I sold him in a garage sale. In the years since, I wish I hadn't done that.

 

As an "adult", I always wanted either a Hobbes http://folk.uib.no/ebe053/hobbes.jpeg or an Opus http://moviewriternyu.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/opus.gif as a gift, but I never received one.

 

Gman

[+ friendofsheila]

I had a teddy bear as a child. It made a growling sound when tilted upside down so I called him "growly bear."

 

Thank you for mentioning this, Becket. The book I read mentioned "growly bears" but I'd never seen one before. You just confirmed that they really existed.