A Bear Affair

Teddies take over

at historic sites    

By Stephanie Howard

The Examiner 

Ruth Daehler never owned a teddy bear growing up.

Still, the Mayview woman has

found great joy in making the

lovable, stuffed animals for more than 50 years.

Ruth displayed her handmade bears at the Bingham Waggoner Estate,

313 W. Pacific Street, in Independence during the Bear Affair held

President's Day weekend, February 19-20, 2005

With the help of the Independence Attractions Coalition, 10 historic sites

in Independence offered different bear-related activities.

Daehler had her own room in the Bingham-Waggoner Estate where she displayed several of her bears, each in its own outfit made by Daehler.

"I double stitch all the seams," Daehler said. "I make 'em so they'll last

a while."

Other rooms of the Bingham Waggoner Estate were filled with innumerable bears - in all three stories.

Photo by Julie Scheidegger The Examiner At the Chicago and Alton Depot, Savannah Baldassano and her grandmother Jane Baldassano find what they were looking for through the rooms of teddy bears: a talking bear.  Savannah, Jane and grandfather Joe Baldassano came from Lincoln, Nebraska, to see the Bear Affair.

DeeAnn Yancey, of Blue Springs,

and her granddaughter Sophie

enjoyed the bears on display

at the Bingham Waggoner Estate.

"They're all adorable," DeeAnn said.

The woman attended the event with friends Della Wolfe, of Independence

and her granddaughter Kayla, and

Diane Marr and her granddaughter

Noel Hoover.

DeeAnn and Della are both collectors

and enjoyed the chance to peek into other people's collections.

"I need another house just to put all

the bears in," Della jokes. "I haven't found one I don't like."

Sophie, 8, said she loves all stuffed animals and liked some of the smaller bears better.  Overall, Sophie said she enjoyed the experience.

"I get to spend time with my grandma and friends, and her friends' granddaughters," Sophie said. "I liked all of them."

Photo by Julie Scheidegger The Examiner Pins stick out from the small pieces of mohair Craig Bottiger will stitch together to make a teddy bear's head, as part of the Bear Affair events at the Bingham-Waggoner Estate.  Bottiger creates reproductions of antique bears using only natural fibers like mohair and simple boot button eyes.

Across the street at the

Chicago & Alton Depot, each

room had a different theme.

The room off the lobby

was filled with train-oriented

bears.

The next room featured

a number of Christmas

bears.

Upstairs, a couple of rooms

were filled with pieces from individual collections.

The last room in the Chicago

& Alton Depot held themed

bears from around the world.

Silk and wax bears from Japan, pandas from China and polar bears were part of the featured displays.

John Thorton, president of the Friends of Chicago & Alton Depot, said

the Bear Affair idea came from the success of the doll display, the site

sponsored last year.

Thorton said it was a way to bring more tourism to Independence

during the slower winter months.

"When we learned there were just as many or more bear collectors,

we decided to do teddy bears," Thorton said. "We're all cooperating,

and it's all done for the benefit of tourism."

Thorton said the collaborative efforts have been successful because

people came from as far away as Kentucky to see the different displays.

Next door at the National Frontier Trails Museum, guests got a more

historical view of bears. Educational Director, Richard Edwards, showed

a film about bears during settler days and how the settlers reacted

to the bears.  Following the film, the guests made their own bears

out of paper.

"All of us are very interested in helping each other and providing this synergy," Edwards said. "The more we can produce together, the

better."

The festivities concluded on Monday, and the highlight of the weekend

was an auction at the Truman Memorial Building Saturday night.  Each

site decorated a fiberglass bear to be auctioned. All the proceeds were

donated to the Child Abuse Prevention Agency.

Click here for Page Two - Second Article about the Bear Affair Weekend!