Valentine Day Pink Teddy Bears

Well, we could actually 'blame' a few people: President Theodore Roosevelt of the USA, a genius shopkeeper Morris Michtom and a smart German lady called Margaret Steiff. Why, you ask?

First part of the story:
One day, about 100 years ago, President Roosevelt thought it would be fun to go shoot a bear and so the hunting party took off to find a bear, but they weren't succesful until the next day they stumbled upon an old bear. The guides hunted him down, the dogs injured him and the guides tied him to a tree and then they called for the President to come and shoot him. Seeing this injured old bear, it broke the President's heart and he ordered that this bear would not be shot pure for the fun of killing. Alas, the bear was injured severely and would not survive if they let him go so then the President ordered that they put him down to end his pain and so they did.

Of course the story of what President Roosevelt had done, was spread quickly and widely and illustrators drew litte cartoons. There was this shopkeeper who's wife had made a pair of stuffed bears and the clever shopkeeper asked the President's permission to call them Teddy's Bears (Teddy being short for Theodore, the President's first name) and he got permission to do so and then Mr. Morris Michtom put the two bears in his shop window and put a sign in saying: Teddy's Bears and that's how they got their name.

Second part of the story:
Morris Michtom's wife wasn't the only one who made stuffed toys, there was this German lady Margaret Steiff, who owned a company and when she got sick and was confined to her home, she started to make stuffed animals. Then one day in 1903 an American saw one of her stuffed bears and ordered a lot of them and so the Teddy Bears entered the toy's world and haven't left it since then.

Teddy Bears are often referred to as Teddies

A Teddy who was a little vain,
got frustrated when she walked in rain.
"I hate it, I hate it", she used to sob
and we all thought she was a snob.

With thanks for granting me permission to use this photo:
Brown & Pink Teddy Bear Cake by Pink Cake Box

A Teddy said to me one day,
"Would you mind if I would say:
Will you be my Valentine
and can I take you out to dine?"

My heart, it skipped a beat or two,
I mumbled words, just only few.
Oh dear, oh dear, my brain dropped dead,
I couldn't believe what he just said.

He's been my mate for sixty years,
heard my stories, dried my tears.
He never spoke, but listened good,
I never knew he cared for food.

I smiled at him and said quite clear:
"Dinner with you is a treat my Dear
and sure I'll be your Valentine,
if you promise that you'll be mine".

Then I woke up in the middle of night,
I had been dreaming and I sighed,
reached out to him and I felt glad,
he's the best soulmate I've ever had.