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Show 16, A Bull Market For Teddy Bears This Year shocks go up and stocks go but in toyland, theres ala ways bear market. Primarily responsible for this state of affairs is an down, almost-octogenaria- ) Vk n bear cub named Teddy. In and society, the forfast-pace- fad-orient- d, fickle-minde- d ever young Teddy Bear remains one of Americas favor- all-tim- e Large Selection of 14k Gold Chains? Starting from $27.50 Open til 8 p.m., Mon. thru Fri. Also Open This Sunday, Dec. 19 Noon till 6 p.m. itetoys. "Never in the history of Wall Street was the country more at the mercy of bears than it is today," cried the toy industrys trade magazine, Playthings, in 1906. "Stuffed plush Teddies are fairly rampant, and indications show prospects of a long and continued reign. How right they are. Fleeting fame has come to other stuffed animals. Lions and tigers have tried on occasion to push Teddy off center stage in the toy store window. One year, unicorns, true to type, tried to horn in on Teddys act. Nonetheless, "the retailers tell us the Teddy Bear is still number one," Donna Leccese, Playthings current associate editor, says. Douglas Thomson, president of the Toy Manufacturers of America, agrees. 'Theres no decline in this species. The Teddy is on the increase. First among equals perhaps because each bear owned naturally thinks his or her Teddy is best is a seldom seen Teddy Bear who lives at the Smithsonians National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. This delightful chap, coat with his a rotund rather belly, covering has bright black shoe button eyes and a (if slightly smug) expression. He only meets his public occasionhoney-colore- wisdom-of-the-age- s ally. 5 North Main 8821382 "The Diamond Store" d "Weve had lots of requests for him, and hes been on view a number of times," Herb Collins, formerly the Smithson r . ians chief curator of political history, says. "But we have to be careful, his joints loosen with handling and his coat j.ople got their bear. Theodore Roosevelt, however, didn't always get his. On Nov. 14, 1902, the president was on a hunting expedition in Smedes, Miss., and had had no luck. Anxious that the president bag a bear, some of his party chased down and stunned black bear. The a hunters roped the bear and tied it to a tree. A messenger was dispatched to summon the president so that he might shoot the animal and go home with a trophy. When the president arrived, he refused to shoot the exhausted and tethered creature. A Washington Post article the next day informed its readers in style: President Called After the Beast Had Been Lassoed, but He Refused to Make an Un- fades in the light. Actually, for a bear whos been around since the hes in excellent condition. And the Smithsonian Institution wants him to stay that way because hes one of the first Teddy 235-poun- Bears made in America. It was Herb Collins, now the executive director of the Smith- sonians National Philatelic who personally Collection, brought this Teddy to the Smithsonian in January 1964. President Theodore Roosevelts grandson, Kermit, his wife and their children had been presented with the Teddy Bear, one of the originals from the Ideal Toy Co., by Benjamin Michtom, son sportsmanlike Shot of Ideal's founder. The shot not fired was heard around the land. Three Press Association representatives were with the hunting party and a small army of reporters was following the presidents trail. On Nov. 16, 1902, a cartoon by Clifford Berryman il- Michtom dated the bear to 1903, the year his parents went into the toy business. The Roosevelts decided that the Teddy Bear, named for the president, should go to the bear-makin- d g Smithsonian. He almost didnt make it. A letter from Mrs. Roosevelt to Michtom advised: "I was about lustrating the incident appeared the front page of the Washington Post. The American public immediately responded to the story and the cartoon, presumably finding in them the heroic and sportsmanlike qualities it saw in its president. Shortly, however, the whole matter took on a more whimsical tone. A subsequent Berryman cartoon of the same hunt- on to get in touch with the Smithsonian about presenting them with the original bear when the children decided they didnt want to part with it yet. Happily, Mark and Anne Roosevelt, the presidents great grandchildren, changed their minds. Several months later, the Smithsonian and the American ing episode, dated 1902, depicted the bear as smaller than the as one in the first cartoon and very appealing cub. Berrymans little bear was a great success and appeared in his cartoons of Theodore Roosevelt for years afterwards. In fact, Teddys bear was everywhere. Observed historian Mark Sullivan: The "Teddy Bear, beginning with Berrymans original cartoon, was repeated thousands of times and printed literally thousands of millions of times. . took advantage of its vogue; it became more common in the hands of children than the woolly lamb. Legend and family oral history have it that Brooklyn candy store owners Rose and Morris Michtom, gave America its first stuffed bear toy and called it for Theodore Roosevelt. According to their son, Benjamin (who died in 1980), Morris Michtom was inspired by the Berryman cartoon and wrote to the president, asking his permission t9 make a small bear cub and call it "Teddys Bear." As Benjamin Michtom heard the story from his father, worried-lookin- Toy-make- g rs the president agreed, although T.R. was said to have expressed doubt that his name would mean much in the toy bear business. Despite that skepticism. Rose Michtom made a few samples of the new Teddy Bear. In 1903, Butler Brothers, a large whole- saler, agreed to distribute it, and the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. was born. "Ive been hearing that story since I was a tiny Mark Michtom says. child, Currently, as senior vice president of Ideal Toy Corp., Morris Michtoms grandson heartily appreciates the fact that a r Teddy Bear started a multimil-lion-dolla- business. The Teddy Bear has, in fact, started several CHANGES FOR MOUNTAIN BELLS RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS. Giengen-on-the-Bren- West headed today by Steiff, z, Germany, New Years Day, 1983, will be a day of changes for Mountain Bell. And that means changes in the way youll do business with us. Some of these changes youll like. Some will take getting used to. But all are the result of a Federal Communications Commission decision to increase competition in the telecommunications industry. This should result in a greater choice of products and services. Heres how the changes will affect you. ORDERING PHONE SERVICE Beginning January 1, you wont be able to order service or pay your bill at a Bell PhoneCenter. Thats because Bell PhoneCenters will no longer be owned andoperatedby Mountain Bell. Theyll be partof American Bell, a new AT &T subsidiary created to compete in the sale of telephone equipment. Some of the existing Bell PhoneCenters will be converted to Mountain Bell Service Centers which well operate to do business with you. So youll still be able to do business with us in person. Although youll probably find calling us is a faster, more convenient way to take care of your service needs. Just call your Service Representative to order new service or make changes in your service. Youll find the number listed on your phone bill or in the Customer Guide section in the front of the White Pages Directory. Hans-Ott- Well continue to repair or replace equipment purchased or leased from us after January 1. Our repair service numbers are listed in the Customer Guide. Equipment obtained from other suppliers should be returned to them for repair. The easiest way to pay your bill is to mail it. Call your Service Representative for questions about your bill or for the nearest location to pay in person. The number is listed on your bill and in the Customer Guide? USING THE CUSTOMER GUIDE Customer Guide section of the White Pages Directory will continue to be helpful when these changes occur. However, some changes may have been made after the Customer Guide went to press. Your Service Representative will always have the latest information and is ready to help you. As you can see, many of the coming changes will mean more choices for you. But whats best about your service wont change. You can always depend on our continuing commitment to excellence for quality, reliable service in the future. K i In 1983, youll still be able to get phones from us at our Service Centers. But your choice of certain styles and colors will be limited to our current supply. You can also get phones from other suppliers. When you get telephones from us, you can either pick them up or have them delivered. Delivery will take a few days and there is a charge for this service. 555-500- 0 AND LETS TALK We know you may have other e questions. Call us any time between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Or send for our free booklet, Lets Talk About Change. Find out how were ringing in the New Year. toll-fre- GETTING TELEPHONES AND REPAIR SERVICE Mountain Bell " Send me your free booklet LET S TALK ABOUT CHANGE Q PIimh hjve someone call me with Information on O Afternoons are best Residence customer Business customer Evenings are best great-grandnephe- w Noah had nothing on the Steiff Co. menagerie everything from a peacock with real feathers to a giraffe. life-size- d "But the Teddy Bear is still our most popular animal," says Steiff, himself a kindly bear of a man. According to the Steiff bear tale told and retold by family members over the years, an American buyer brought se- veral thousand of their toy bears to America in 1903. In 1907, a vintage year for Teddy Bears, Steiff sold nearly a mil- Most of the information in the 1800 o of its founder. PAYING YOUR BILL CALL multimillion-dolla- r businesses, although they prefer to think they started him. Another firm famous for its Teddy Bears is the Steiff Co. of Send to Mountain Bell, PO Box 1976, Room 1190, 1005 17th Street, Denver, Colorado 80202 lion toy-beimmigrants. By then, practically every large American city boasted two or more Teddy Bear factories. There was a Teddy Bear whose eyes lighted up, one who whistled, one who played music, one who tumbled and one who laughed, revealing a set of teeth (like the presidents), the better to "bare them at his critics. In this same bearish year, young women regularly were seen driving through Central Park in Columbia electric victorias and other fancy vehicles their Teddies the only passenger. But Teddy Bears were not just for the rich. By 1908, the Sears and Roebuck catalog advertised a family of three bears, for 25 cents. (Parents provided the Goldilocks). The growing Teddy Bear population so alarmed a Michigan minister that he warned that replacing dolls with toy bears would destroy the maternal instinct in little girls. Teddy was not to blame. If blame were to be laid, good old American know-howas the culprit. "Hardly a day passes but that a new Teddy Bear article is brought before the public. . Playthings trumpeted. The tiny "Humpty-Dumpty- " Teddy came apart, revealing a w miniature compact. Teddy Bears were on automobiles, buttons and china, as well as on linens, stationery, jewelry, postcards, sheet music and even hot water bottles. In this years gift catalogs, Teddies are turning up once again including a Teddy Bear sleeping bag and a furry Teddy Bear bottle.. For that someone, theres a hot-wat- Name extra-speci- Address. Male. City. JlP- -- LETS TALK Till phone Hearing Impaired TTY or TDD customers please call 800 1 525-602- natural ranch-min- k Teddy. Stores selling only Teddy Bears and related bearmobilia are springing up all over America, and antiques Teddies sell for hundreds of dollars. Clearly, America is experiencing a new Teddy Bear awareness. This year the Zoological Society of Philadelphia, Americas first chartered zoo, held "Americas First Great Teddy Bear Rally." For two days, 25,000 people and an undetermined number of bears marched in parades, en- tered contests, attended bear-carclinics and swapped bear e tales. if |
