Now, just by looking at a person, you probably can’t tell. I mean, how could you?
Take me, for example. I was a monkey kid. I had a Sock Monkey. I also had a stuffed Curious George. So yeah. A monkey kid, I’d say.
No doll babies for me. Not a single one. I didn’t have a teddy bear either.
I had some other stuffed animals that I won at the Our Lady of Mercy carnivals that they had from time to time. But I don’t ever remember having a teddy bear.
I’m not sure there is a straight dividing line between doll baby people, teddy bear people, and monkey people. Perhaps these things intermingle in other people’s lives. But in mine? Monkey person all the way.
I bring this up because on this very date in history, on February 15, 1903, the very first “Teddy Bear” went on sale.
Yep, a guy named Morris Michtom, who was both an inventor and a toy store owner, placed two stuffed bears in his shop window. He also put up a great big sign, advertising them as Teddy Bears.
Earlier, our guy Morris had contacted President Theodore Roosevelt. I’m not sure if he just picked up the phone and called the White House or if he wrote a letter. (Sidebar. I wonder what would happen if any of us dialed the White House and asked for Biden? I should have tried this for Trump, but he was always out golfing or at McDonalds, so I could never catch him actually in the White House. Maybe I’ll give old Joe a ring and tell him to trim the back of his hair.)
Anyway, this guy Morris contacted Roosevelt and asked him for permission to use his nickname, Teddy. The president said, “Bully!” and the Teddy Bear was born. It wasn’t long before other toy manufacturers began copying Michtom’s stuffed bears. And from there, the Teddy Bear became a national institution.
Another sidebar to all of this. The Teddy Bear sort of came about as a result of one of Teddy Roosevelt’s hunting expeditions. Here’s the thing about Theodore. He was an avid conservationist. In fact, after becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used his authority to establish “150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, four national game preserves, five national parks, and 18 national monuments on over 230 million acres of public land.” That is quite a big deal.
But conversely, Roosevelt would often go on his hunting expeditions. Oftentimes, these trips resulted in excessive slaughter. There was one outing in Africa where his party killed over 6,000 animals for sport and trophies. Not good, Theodore.
Anyway, the inspiration for the teddy bear came on a hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902. The story claims that Roosevelt came upon an old injured black bear that his guides had tied to a tree. Some reports claim Roosevelt shot the bear out of pity for his suffering. But other stories insist he set the bear free. The political cartoon followed depicting the more sensitive side of Theodore with this bear. And that spawned the idea for the Teddy Bear.
There are about twenty different stories about how the sock monkey got its start. So your guess is as good as mine.
Either way. I’d just like to say. Monkey people can be friends with Teddy Bear people, can be friends with Doll Baby people, and so on.
That’s how all this stuff works. Or. That’s how it should.
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“That is where my dearest and brightest dreams have ranged — to hear for the duration of a heartbeat the universe and the totality of life in its mysterious, innate harmony.”
― Hermann Hesse, Gertrude
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“If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nations.
When there is order in the nations, there will peace in the world.”
― Confucius
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“All for one and one for all.”
― Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers
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Teddy. Socky. Baby.
