Today is Teddy Roosevelt's 148th birthday. He was one of our most beloved presidents and for good reason. During his eight years in office, he acted against monopolies that dominated business, industry and politics; was a great conservationist and acquired western lands for our public parks; initiated construction for the Panama Canal; won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his efforts to end the Russo-Japanese war; and finally, was responsible, an a roundabout way, for your Teddy Bear.
While Teddy Roosevelt was hunting in Mississippi in 1905, he just wasn't having a successful hunt and wasn't getting any animals. Fearing his disappointment, some of his aids managed to catch a young bear cub and tie it to a tree so he could "bag himself a bare" (hmmmm...maybe that was Davy Crockett). Well, anyway, Teddy drew the line at that and let the bear go. Shortly after, a cartoon depicting the event appeared in the Washington Post.
A toy maker in New York City heard the story and asked his wife, who was handy with a sewing machine, to make stuffed bears to sell. They were popular so the toymaker wrote to President Roosevelt for permission to use his name. The rest is history, as they say.
So....think of Teddy Roosevelt today and what he gave us..........
Yellowstone
Yellowstone
Badlands
(Oh give me a home...)
Yellowstone
hug your Teddy Bear..........
(or in the case of Julie and me....take him with you on a trip).
(Teddy Roosevelt would be proud!)
Happy Birthday, Mr. President, and thank you.