| The Hugging Bear Club Newsletter - April 2006 | |
What does it mean to be a Hugging Bear Club member? It means great articles on teddy bears, new products, first hand event notification, and savings online at HuggingBear.com or locally at our Hugging Bear Inn & Shoppe in Chester, Vermont. Exclusive HB Club online benefits include: Discounts on Orders Over $100! Special Rates on Featured Products! Entry Into Our Monthly Prize Drawing! Monthly discounts and coupons on products and Hugging Bear lodging! And much more! Find the cuddly friend or gift you've been searching for at The Hugging Bear. | |
| Have you ever wondered why these huggable, lovable bears are called “Teddy?”
Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear. He had a deep respect for nature and believed in good sportsmanship. An editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post, Clifford Berryman, brought the story to the nation. His cartoon, a comment on both the border dispute, and the bear, “Drawing the Line in Mississippi,” became famous. Soon the entire country knew the story of "Teddy’s Bear."
The bears were an immediate success. Now, over one hundred years later, we call every stuffed bear a “teddy bear.”  Teddy Roosevelt, the 4th and Georgette Thomas | Hugging Bear Club Featured Product The Morris Michtom Bear  Morris Michtom Bear is meticulously crafted and highly appointed, capturing the spirit, personality and magic of the original's classic design. Supplies of this handsome bear are limited. *See Coupon Below* |
May Contest Drawing Win Two Nights for Two* at The Hugging Bear Inn in Chester, Vermont  One of you will win just by being a Hugging Bear Club member. The winner will be announced in next month's newsletter. *visit must occur off-season, November 1 - May 31 (except holidays) | |
| A Personal Message from Georgette Thomas: The Hugging Bear Inn and Shoppe is my dream come true. Started in 1982, the shop has grown from 50 teddy bears to over 10,000 and their friends - lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), moose, cows, sheep, horses, dogs, cats, and more. My love affair with soft, huggable stuffed toys started with a Panda I received when I was 7 years old. Children and most adults know what comfort these toys, that become REAL to us, give. They don't criticize, they're always there for us, and when you hug them your muscles relax. What better therapy can there be? Their little faces are quizzical, playful, happy, sad, grumpy, knowing or loving, depending on our moods.  People will ask me, "How does one choose a bear?" My response has always been, "The one that speaks to your heart!" Just walk through the shop and look into the faces, and one will "choose you". Looking at the pictures of teddy bears on the internet is a little different experience, but even then, the pictures of certain bear faces jump out at you and say "It's me!! It's me you want!!" So...Happy bear hunting of the good kind! Bear regards, Georgette Thomas, Owner/Innkeeper at the Hugging Bear | |
Upcoming Events at the Hugging Bear Inn and Shoppe Saturday, April 29, 2006 15th Annual Vermont Teddy Bear Artist Event The Annual Steiff Event
| Explore the Hugging Bear Inn
There are six different rooms to choose from, including Pooh and Piglet's Hideaway and the Teddy Roosevelt Room. Check out the Vacancy Calendar! |
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Welcome to the first Hugging Bear Club Newsletter for our newly launched website: 
In November of 1902, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt traveled south to settle a border dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana. Roosevelt, an accomplished hunter, took a day to go bear hunting. The hunt proved disappointing. Not only wasn’t there any game to be found, but Roosevelt was dismayed that his hunting partners used packs of dogs to corner their prey. The president’s guide was eager to regain his approval. As the day was ending, the guide tracked down an old bear, clubbed it, and tied it to a tree for the president to shoot.
The story gave Morris Michtom, and his wife Mary, owners of the Ideal Toy Company, an idea. They wrote to the president and received permission to call their stuffed toy bears “Teddy Bears.” On February 15, 1903, they put the first teddy bears into the window of their Brooklyn store.