Rare Red Teddy Bears Celebrate Titanic Survivor Teddy Bear Story.
And National Teddy Bear Day.
“Incredibly Rare Red Teddy Bears Arrive at Titanic Museums.” Celebrating National Teddy Bear Day. And the Titanic Survivor Teddy Bear and his Human — 6-year-old Robert. Read their Story!
In this new century, we celebrate National Teddy Bear Day just after Labour Day. Now it’s on September 9th.
It’s a celebration that goes back to the end of the Second World War in rural Canada.
Wanting to remember the loving connection between their Teddies and childhood, a number of local groups seemed to form at once. They started in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia and slowly spread across the country. In the early 21st Century, National Teddy Bear Day was acknowledged in Great Britain and the United States.
Recently, National Teddy Bear Day seemed the perfect day to share news about some new arrivals coming to the Titanic Museum Attraction.
The Titanic Museum is in the Ozark Mountain community of Branson, Missouri. And its sister site in the Smoky Mountain town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Titanic Museum, Branson, Missouri. Photo by Brad A. Totman
“Black” bears in America have fur in a variety of colors, mostly black, blond, blue-gray, cinnamon and even white.
For this year’s holiday season, the museums will welcome some incredibly rare red bears — of the stuffed variety.
Rare Red Teddy Bears Celebrate Titanic Survivor Teddy Bear.
These stuffed critters will appear among the holiday décor in the two museums during the months of November and December. They are a stirring reminder that this is the museums’ “Year of the Titanic Children.”
A special exhibit at each site highlights the 135 passengers and crew members who were age 15 or younger when the Titanic set sail. And dozens of artifacts share their very personal stories. Of the 135 young passengers, the outcome was evenly split: 67 survived, 68 perished.
Along with the famous collection in Liverpool, England, these exhibits represent the largest displays of Titanic children’s artifacts ever assembled.
The museums’ crews wondered how to mark the holiday season while also honoring the children aboard the Titanic. They decided to create a special collection of teddy bears. A display that honored the Titanic Survivor Teddy Bear.
Visitors can spot them amidst a forest of Christmas trees.
Those trees are decorated in the Edwardian Era style, the years the ship was built. An Era named for King Edward VII. At that same time, Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States. And it’s for him that the “teddy” bear was named. Roosevelt, a celebrated hunter, refused to shoot a bear cub because he said he “couldn’t have looked my son in the face again if I had.”
The museum’s new “rare bears” are red to symbolize the love between parents and their children. The color makes them a little easier to spot amidst all the holiday décor. And certainly makes something to catch visitors’ eyes in the gift shops. Where the fuzzy friends will be ready for adoption.
“We know for sure that there was one very well-traveled teddy bear on the Titanic,” said the Museum in a recent press release. Telling the Titanic Survivor Teddy Bear Story. The story of Polar…
Polar, the Titanic Survivor Teddy Bear at Maritime Museum, Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool, England.
“But Polar was definitely not red. Polar was the constant companion of 6-year-old Robert Spedden. Robert was one of just seven children who traveled in First Class on the fateful journey.
“When the ship hit the iceberg, Robert arrived on deck clutching his snow-white teddy bear. And he fell asleep once he was safely in a lifeboat. Five hours later, he was put inside a cargo net and hauled up the side of the rescue ship Carpathia. Shortly afterwards, a crew member found a teddy bear on the floor of one of the lifeboats. A steward recognized it and sought out the Speddens on the Carpathia to reunite Robert with his bear.
“A year later, Robert’s mother wrote and illustrated a book. It told the story of a bear named Polar who went on an adventure in Europe and ultimately survived the sinking of the Titanic. She gave it to Robert for Christmas in 1913. Shortly thereafter, that book – now called POLAR: The Titanic Bear – was published widely.”
Titanic Survivor Teddy Bear “Polar” lives now at another museum — the Maritime Museum, Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool, UK.
“That’s just one of thousands of stories that visitors to either of the Titanic Museum Attractions can learn during their time on the ships.”
The museums’ goal has always been to “provide a stimulating connection to history that families can experience together.”
Honoring the memories of all those aboard is at the core of the message. The message the museum President and Co-owner Mary Kellogg envisioned with the creation of the Titanic Museums.
The Branson attraction opened in 2006. And the Pigeon Forge location opened in 2010. That human (and bear!) focus is what makes the Titanic Museum Attraction one of the most visited sites in each of those destinations. To learn more about the “Year of the Titanic Children” visit titanicbranson.com/special-events/.
“Live Free, Mon Ami!” – Brian Alan Burhoe
And See Our Most Popular Teddy Bear Post: Teddy Bears in History – How Teddy Bears were Invented.
Rare Red Teddy Bears Celebrate Titanic Survivor Teddy Bear
SOURCE Titanic Museum Attraction, PRNewswire & Civilized Bears
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