Marathon Pundit: My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: Teddy Bear

Saturday, July 05, 2008

My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: Teddy Bear

Vicksburg was in my rear-view mirror when I took my car onto the fabled Highway 61 on my way home to Illinois. Just like the other 49 states, there are pockets of history everywhere in Mississippi, and I found such a place in the tiny town of Onward.

From Marlo Carlo Fitzpatrick's Mississippi Off The Beaten Path:

One of the world's most popular toys was born in tiny Onward, Mississippi, as the result of a presidential pardon.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt participated in a black bear hunt in the Onward area. The hunt was led by former slave, Confederate soldier, and skilled hunting guide Holt Collier. When a 235-pound bear attacked one of Collier's prized hunting dogs, the guide clubbed and lassoed the bear, tied it to a tree, and invited the president to shoot it. Roosevelt refused to kill the tethered animal, claiming it would not be sportsmanlike. A cartoonist with the Washington Post captured the noble gesture on paper, and the story of "Teddy's Bear" quickly spread nationwide.

Soon after, a savvy New York merchant named Morris Michton made toy history by creating a cuddly toy christened "the Teddy Bear." Michton went on to found the Ideal Toy Company, starting the entire business with revenues generated by the original Teddy Bear.

Guide Holt Collier went on to become known as the greatest bear hunter in the South. A 2002 book by Mississippi author Minor Buchanan titled Holt Collier: His Life recounts Collier's many adventures, including the famous Teddy Bear hunt.

In the centennial year of the famous hunt, Mississippi declared the Teddy Bear the state's official toy.

In one of his lesser-known songs, Tiger Whitehead, Johnny Cash tells a similar story about another seemingly doomed black bear. Later in this series I'll talk about Cash's hometown of Dyess, Arkansas.