THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9407290305
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Tony Stein
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
It was a dandy social event, and Lloyd and I enjoyed it very much.
I am speaking, of course, of the recent teddy bear picnic at the Chesapeake Central Library. Lloyd is one of our two family teddy bears. We named him Lloyd because his eyes are set close together so that he bears (naturally) a fuzzy resemblance to actor Lloyd Bridges.
Anyway, Lloyd, 119 other teddy bears, 41 kids and a stuffed raccoon were guests at the picnic. Among the humans were Virginia Gossney and her 3-year-old daughter, Juliette, who vowed her bear hugged her back at night when she cuddled it. Then there was 5-year-old Ben Jones, whose teddy bear, named Scottio, was apparently a talented gymnast.
This became known because Ben told me ``Scottio makes me happy when he does funny flips.'' I asked for a demonstration, and Ben tossed Scottio into the air. Scottio flipped over in flight and landed comfortably in Ben's waiting arms. I gave the bear a 10.
Ben's mother, Jenny, also introduced me to her son Zack, 3, whose teddy bear was named Peanut Butter. At night, Zack sleeps with it and a stuff dog named, by no coincidence, Jelly. Peanut butter and jelly. What's a better combination when you're a kid?
Lynn Tyler brought her children, Rachel, 5, and Leighton, 3, plus their friend, Allison Cobble, 4. Leighton had a Pooh Bear mechanized to sing the Winnie the Pooh song. Rachel said her bear was ``just there.'' Allison said her bear was ``just a friend.'' And, there, Rachel and Allison, when you grow up you will remember how great it was to have someone always ``there'' and someone always ``a friend.''
Kathy Morris escorted her daughter, 3-year-old Brittany, and a teddy named Mother Bear. A Christmas creature, Mother Bear stays in Brittany's room between Christmases, so this was an unusual midyear outing for her. She was, by all reports, well-behaved.
I would never have linked the words ``rugged'' and ``teddy bear,'' but rugged was the only word for the companion that 8-year-old Sara Fenwick brought along. It was L.L. Bear, a lineal descendant of Maine's famous L.L. Bean mail order company. The bear was dressed for the Maine woods, outdoorsy enough to make Smokey Bear look like a hairy wimp.
Lloyd and I had to leave early, so we missed the teddy bear stories, teddy bear songs and teddy bear movie. But my curiosity about teddy bears was piqued, so I later chased back to the library for The Teddy Bear Encyclopedia. Hey, Jeopardy quiz show, call me when you've got a teddy bear category.
For instance, you should know that in 1902, President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear that had been cornered for him. The incident inspired a Washington Post newspaper artist to do a cartoon showing Roosevelt walking away from a bear cub. And the cartoon inspired a New York businessman to offer for sale a stuffed animal called ``Teddy's bear.''
It's probably a good thing, by the way, that the president was Teddy Roosevelt. What if it had been President Fillmore? Somehow, I don't think a Millard Bear sounds right.
Another thing the encyclopedia told me was that teddy bear collecting is called ``arctophily.'' If you say ``That's Greek to me,'' you're right. The word comes from the Greek arctos (bear) and philos (love).
The only thing that depressed me about the encyclopedia was its recognition of the fact that some collectors see teddy bears as investments. In 1989, a 1926-vintage bear sold at auction for $86,000. Big money, but cash value isn't what teddy bears are about.
Watch the kids at a teddy bear picnic. Watch any kid with a favorite stuffed animal. There's an unspoken bond between them. Child and faithful, accepting friend. Child and comfort in the dark of night. Child and wonderful, adaptable companion at play. Child and maker of good memories when we are grown up and wishing that life's problems had solutions as simple as hugging a teddy bear.
Chesapeake psychologist Dr. Maureen McCarthy says teddy bears remind us of the hugs we got from Mom and Dad. ``When you hold a teddy,'' says McCarthy, ``you know that someone loves you. Kids talk with their teddies and endow them with human qualities. Teddies can say all the things to Mom and Dad that need saying.''
Like when McCarthy was growing up with her teddy bear named Colleen. It was Colleen who told Mom that Maureen didn't want to eat her vegetables. No dice. Score one for Mom and the nutritional value of lima beans.
But I think my friend Bob Gibble of Western Branch is right when he says teddy bears are such a comfort that it's a shame grown people look funny carrying them. That's why I stopped toting mine when I was only 37. by CNB