June 30 '01
Volume 265
Teddy Bears
Onward MS Played A Role
Millions of females, from young
teens to those not so young, once swooned as Elvis
Presley crooned, "…want you be my teddy bear." Elvis, at least in song,
encouraged his female listeners to become as cuddly and loving as the
ever-popular teddy bear. That was in the days before the feminist movement,
back when it was okay for a guy to think of a gal as a plaything. Well, if
it wasn't okay, then at least we didn’t hear about it from feminists
and the "politically correct."
The teddy bear had been around for more than fifty years when Elvis sang
his Teddy Bear song. Had it not been for Teddy Roosevelt coming to
Mississippi to go on a bear hunt in 1902, there might not have been a teddy
bear for Elvis to include in a song.
In my travels, I often drive right through Onward, Mississippi and have been
known to blink and miss seeing the unincorporated community. It really is
a one-store town, and then you have to use "town" in a loose sense. The store
has acquired several pictures and other memorabilia of the bear hunt made
famous by Teddy Roosevelt's attendance.
Early in our Delta existence, Barbara piqued my interest in the Onward store
by telling me about their dancing bears. Somehow, I believed she was referring
to live animals, but when she mentioned spending fifty cents I got a better
picture of the event. The mechanical bears were approximately three feet
tall and became animated when a customer shoved two quarters into the right
slots on the table-mounted contraption.
Outside the building, located at the intersection of US Hwy. 61 and MS Hwy
1, a historical marker adds authenticity to the bear hunt of 1902. As with
most presidential actions, there are two sides or two viewpoints to explore,
and the outcome of the story of the bear hunt depends upon the teller.
It is popularly believed that Roosevelt refused to shoot an orphaned cub
that had been captured and tied to a tree. Political cartoonist, Clifford
Berryman, of the Washington Post immortalized the day in a cartoon captioned
"Drawing the Line in Mississippi." However, another source claims Roosevelt
had returned to camp before the cub was captured, and thus he never saw the
cub.
These days, I doubt many Mississippians care which tale is accurate and are
content in knowing that a sitting U.S. president once hunted bear on land
about thirty miles north of Vicksburg. Perhaps, of greater historical importance
is how the bear hunt relates to teddy bears, though two differing accounts
of the invention of the teddy bear are given:
"The cartoon was seen by husband and wife
shop owners, Morris and Rose Michtom. They owned a toy and novelty store
in Brooklyn, New York and, inspired by the cartoon, Mrs. Michtom made a toy
bear and displayed it in the shop window. The bear proved enormously popular
with the public. Mr. Michtom wrote to Roosevelt requesting permission to
name the bear "Teddy" after the President. Thus was born one of the largest
toy companies of the United States: the Ideal Novelty Toy Company, which
changed its name in 1938 to become the Ideal Toy Company.
The second, less recognized version of the
origin of the Teddy Bear concerns a German toy bear manufacturer, Margarete
Steiff. Based in Geingen, Steiff made her toy bears from sketches of bears
at the local zoo, provided by her nephew. In 1903 these bears were displayed
at the Leipzig Trade Fair which resulted in an American buyer placing an
order for 3,000 bears. By the end of that year, the order had increased to
12,000 bears and in 1907, the Steiff Company sold over 1,000,000 toys."
(Source: Student Website/Arts Dept./ University of Melbourne/ Melbourne,
Australia)
Personally, I'd like to believe the teddy bear owes it origins to the U.S.
company, and agree with the source cited above that,
"Wherever their origin, the Teddy Bear has
been embraced world wide as a childhood companion, which some "children"
continue to hold dear well into their latter years."
I really don't remember what got my mother interested in making teddy bears,
but I know she never made one for me when I was a child. Maybe someone showed
her a homemade one or gave her a pattern. It could be she was looking for
a special gift for one of the babies she kept during her babysitting days
of the seventies. I'm pretty certain she had made several teddy bears before
my children were born.
Aunt Jo, Mom's younger sister, remembers taking Mom to Hancock Fabrics in
Tupelo to buy some of the furry material to make the stuffed toy bears. Aunt
Jo also told me that Mom bought some white as well as some pink fabric. Later,
Aunt Jo was able to supply Mom with some bear-making materials from cutting-room
remnants at one of the local furniture plants.
Mom didn't charge near enough for the bears to cover the time she invested
into each creation, but I suppose she made enough to buy more fixings to
make more bears. Mom sewed the teddy bears more for the joy she received
in hearing how some child latched onto one, than for any monetary gain. I
have no idea how many she made, and I doubt that she kept a count.
Once Mom made a pair of teddy bears at the request of Sarah Naugher. Sarah
wanted them for her twin grandsons. For whatever reason children prefer one
toy over another, neither of the twins cared a great deal about their teddy
bear, but when they had a little brother a few years afterwards, he delighted
in the bears. The paths of Miss Sarah and Mom didn't cross a lot, but it
always thrilled Mom whenever Sarah mentioned the bears.
A few weeks ago, I saw Sarah and David Naugher in church and Sarah introduced
me to her son-in-law and her daughter Jima. (I've since forgotten their
son-in-law's name.) I explained that I remembered Jima from high school,
and I asked her if her boys still had the bears. Jima recounted how the twins
cared less for the toy bears than did their younger brother, and she explained
how much the younger one loved his bear.
"He loved to pull on the bear's nose. He'd keep working on it until he had
it open and the stuffing falling out, then when I took a needle and thread
to sew it back up, he would cry. He thought I was surely hurting his bear,
poking it with a needle," Jima stated.
Over the years, I've seen a lot of teddy bears, some store-bought and some
homemade. I may be partial, but I think the ones my mother made were the
cutest. My daughter was fond enough of her bear to pass it along to her children
for their enjoyment. My son's bear is probably stored in a box in our attic.
Whatever became of yours?
Delta Disgust
Blasting Bennie
Affirmative action proponents would have us believe their measures, that
amount to nothing more than reverse discrimination, are necessary to right
past societal disparities. These modern apologists see affirmative action
efforts as justifiable, and most will not admit to practicing a double standard.
However, as I see things, any governmental scale that is weighted in the
favor of any group is imbalanced and unfair.
Years ago, our nation’s judicial system required the state of Mississippi
to redraw its congressional districts in order to provide a racial minority
with a voting district in which they would have the majority. Knowing the
propensity of minorities, such as are found in great numbers in the Mississippi
Delta, to cast ballots along racial lines, the judicial system assured
Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District minority candidate
a legal victory.
Some, in the political specter, see such as the only way a minority could
ever be elected to a top political position. I don’t share that view.
I believe that racial lines are only hardened whenever one group receives
preferential treatment to the detriment of the other group. I have enough
faith in our democratic system to believe a qualified candidate can be elected
to any political office regardless of that candidate’s race, color,
creed, or national origin. I further believe that voters are intelligent
enough to choose a candidate on the merits of his or her qualifications,
and I do not think a congressional district must contain a 63% majority of
minority voters in order to elect a minority congressman. Nonetheless,
Congressman Bennie Thompson enjoys his present political office due the racial
makeup of his district.
I can’t say whether Thompson owes his political victory to his credentials
or to the color of his skin. However, I can question his effectiveness in
representing all the people of his district and his state based on the content
of the following letter. (Note: The letter was written by a lawyer and later
passed from reader to reader over the Internet. Dena Kimbrell contributed
my copy.)
According to an AP story on 4/17/01, "Mississippi's only Black congressman,
Democrat Bennie Thompson, has refused to fly the flag [of Mississippi] in
his Washington office. 'We will now have the sole distinction of having a
Confederate battle symbol on a flag that can only further divide a diverse
population, 'Thompson said."
Mr. Thompson, I am a seventh generation Mississippian. I was born and raised
in the Mississippi Delta in Greenville, MS. I now make my home in Starkville,
MS, but my family ties are to Greenville. I, sir, find you to be an embarrassment
to the entire state of Mississippi. Who precisely do you think you are refusing
to fly the flag of this grand state in your office? The people of your district,
both white and black, elected you to the third highest political position
in the greatest country in the world behind being a Senator or President.
The only thing that is dividing this diverse population is your racist
rhetoric.
We have a lot of distinctions in this state. Not only do we have the highest
number of accredited teachers in the country; but we also have the highest
number of teen pregnancies, high school dropouts, lowest education budget,
highest percentage of infants born without prenatal care, and the hits just
keep on coming. First and foremost, the flag issue should be about number
2,833 on our list of things to do to make Mississippi a better place. But
since a vocal few including yourself and former Governor Winter deem it necessary
to stir the pot, we spent somewhere around 2 million dollars on this lovely
flag election.
How many computers for our schools would 2 million dollars have purchased?
How many hungry children could we have fed for 2 million dollars? I am ashamed
to say that I am from Mississippi--not because of our flag, but because the
people in your district have elected you to represent them. I am appalled
that a member of the U.S. Congress would be so daring as to not display the
flag of the state that elected him to his position. If that is the case,
you should take down your American flag. After all, it honors a constitution
that counted your ancestors as 3/5 of a vote, in essence, 3/5 of a person.
Granted, that has been changed by amendment, but the language is still there.
The same stars and stripes under which we had Jim Crow laws and segregation
still fly in your office. So, you should take down the American flag. We
should change it because someone might get their little feelings hurt. How
do you think a Japanese-American (a citizen just like you and me) feels every
time they look at that flag and remember spending years in an internment
camp during WWII? How do you think a Native American feels every time they
drive across "Federal Property" proudly displaying the US flag--"Federal
Property" that was once their ancestral homeland. Certainly it must offend
them. So we should dispense with the American flag and change it to something
less offensive. And lest we forget, the same "hate" groups that count the
Nazi emblem and the Confederate battle flag as their monikers fly the American
flag as well. So there's another reason to change the US flag. But it's ok
for you to fly the American flag, but not Mississippi's. Gee, I suppose that
makes you either the biggest hypocrite in the world or the most uninformed
person I've encountered.
I cannot express to you adequately my disgust with your offensive behavior.
If our flag and this state embarrasses you so much, I will personally buy
you a one-way plane ticket to any state or country of your choice. I only
want people who are proud to be from Mississippi representing this state.
And if you are a true Mississippian, you are proud of your state period,
the good and the bad. Pride cannot be selective. Yes, we have problems in
this state. Yes, we have racial tensions and issues surrounding our checkered
past. However, we cannot move past those problems until we come together
instead of pushing each other apart. Your refusal to display the flag is
a clear symbolic move on your part that you have selective pride and no desire
to build a coalition.
Mississippi's problems do not begin or end with the flag. Our problems begin
and end with the refusal of our people to do what is best for this state.
What is best for this state has absolutely nothing to do with
the flag. The stars and bars [Editor - an erroneous reference to the
Confederate battle flag] are a symbol. They represent a celebration of
our history and independence. I realize you make your living off the federal
dole and democratic monies. I don't expect you, of all people, to be receptive
to the notion of states' rights. However, when I see those stars and bars,
it reminds me that I am a Mississippian first, and an American second.
The way I see it, you have a very important decision to make. You were quite
willing to accept the will of the people when it meant you won your election.
Are you now willing to accept the will of the people that we like our flag
and want to keep it? You can't have your cake and eat it, too. Either accept
the will of the people all the time, or don't accept it at all. Much like
your selective pride, you cannot have selective acceptance of the will of
the people. If it's good enough to put you in office, it's good enough to
make you accept our flag. I find a big part of accepting our flag to be that
you have the common decency to fly it in your office. Otherwise, resign your
office and get a real job. I have no doubt that your statements will be
remembered in your next election. I have faith and confidence in the good
people of the Mississippi delta as well as your soon to be new constituents
after re-districting to vote for someone who loves this state period--with
no qualifications and no exceptions. And that, sir, is most definitely not
you.
Stephanie L. Mallette, Attorney at Law
Bodock Beau
Church Humor
Once again, children help make religion fun. Consider these tidbits of humor
contributed by Powell Prewett Jr.
A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way
`to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One
bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."
The preacher was wired for sound with a lapel mike, and as he preached, he
moved briskly about the platform, jerking the mike cord as he went. Then
he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping before
jerking it again. After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third
pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, "If he gets
loose, will he hurt us?"
Six-year old Angie and her four-year old brother Joel were sitting together
in church. Joel giggled, sang and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister
had had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in
church." "Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked. Angie pointed to the
back of the church and said, "See those two men standing by the door?
They're hushers."
My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how
you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo while I asked,
"No, how are we alike?" "You're both old," he replied.
A ten-year old, under the tutelage of her grandmother, was becoming quite
knowledgeable about the Bible. Then one day she floored her
grandmother by asking, "Which Virgin was the mother of Jesus? -- The Virgin
Mary or the King James Virgin?"
A little boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was coming down the aisle,
he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd. While facing the crowd,
he would put his hands up like claws and roar. So it went, step, step, ROAR,
step, step, ROAR, all the way down the aisle. As you can imagine the crowd
was near tears by the time he reached the pulpit.
The little boy, however, was getting more and more distressed from all the
laughing and was also near tears by the time he reached the pulpit. When
asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, "I was being the Ring
Bear."
One Sunday in a Midwest city, a young child was "acting up" during the morning
worship hour. The parents did their best to maintain some sense of order
in the pew but were losing the battle. Finally, the father picked the little
fellow up and walked sternly up the aisle on his way out. Just before reaching
the safety of the foyer, the little one called loudly to the congregation,
"Pray for me! Pray for me!"
And one particular four-year old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets
as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."
A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better
boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am.
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