It All Started With A President’s Hunting Trip

114 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt, was on a bear hunting trip near Onward, Mississippi. However, his luck was not so good and the only bear he saw on the trip was a frisky little cub that only wanted to play with him.When Roosevelt refused to shoot the little guy, newspaper reporters quickly grabbed onto the story and it went nation-wide.

One of the readers of the story was political cartoonist, Clifford Berryman. He came up with a tongue-in cheek lampoon of a cartoon about the president refusing to shoot the bear cub. When it was published in the Washington Post, a candy shop owner in Brooklyn, New York, came up with a "money maker," of an idea.

That man was, Morris Michtom, and besides selling candy he and his wife were also makers of stuffed animals. They developed a stuffed toy bear and dedicated it to the president. They called it "Teddy's Bear."

After having received permission from the president to use his name, they began mass producing the toy bears. Business was so good that within 4 years, with his profits, he created the Ideal Toy Corporation.

Here in 2016, the Teddy Bear remains a popular seller during the Christmas season and year around.