Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1907-01-10
women HAVE new FAD.
RoosEvELTwooLLYHEAR HAVE
BECOME POPULAR.
Funny Little Stuffed Animals Furnish
Much Amusement for College Girls
and others-What One Hus.
band Thinks of Fad.


band Thinks of Fad.
Boston.-Woman' household play
thing is no longer a live dog, but a
Roosevelt woolly bear. The funny
little stuffed animal, which can be
made to assume so many cute" atti-
tudes by the manipulation of it's
jointed legs and head was designed as
a toy for babies and very small chill
dren, but girls and young women are
getting them in greater quantities
than are the babies.
During the past few months the pas
sion for Roosevelt bears has become
so intense among grown-up girls that
the young woman who does not have
one is marked as impervious to the
attraction of the fad of the day. Now
adays the little stuffed figures are to
be seen in the coy corners in girls
rooms at home and at school.
There are Roosevelt bear parties
participated in by girls from 16 to 20
years old. If a girl receives an invi-
tation to an afternoon bear party"
she may be seen trudging down the
street on the afternoon in question
with the woolly object under her arm.
When the company of bear owners
has gathered there begins a frivolous
contest to see who can make her beast
do the most amusing stunts. Down on
the floor are the girls, each one NOV
ing the limbs and head of her dumb
property to make the object look
natural and comical. 1t is considered
quite an accomplishment to make the
bear assume position not within the
repertory of the other exhibitors.
When at first it was surprising to
see a 17-year-old girl on the street
with a woolly bear, especially if she
had no baby brothers or sisters in that
part of the town, such sight occa-
sions little comment now in the sub
urbs where the growth of the craze
is recognized
Roosevelt bears were introduced as
children's toy about year ago, and
during last winter and spring the lit
tie folks had monopoly. During the
summer at the various resorts young
girls began to play with the bears to
amuse the babies, and it became evi.
dent that the grown-ups were having
more fun than the children. When the
girls got back to the city every toy
store felt the increased demand for
Roosevelt bears by girls who were
getting ready to so to boarding schools
and colleges. 1t became part of the
outfit of the college girl, and there are
bear parties" regularly now in every
institution for the higher education OF
women.
College girls having popularized the
fad, it spread throughout the high
schools. where the college girl is al.
ways a subject of emulation. At sew.
eral of the football games held about
Boston this fall the female portion OF
the cheering squads had their stuffed
animals will. them, each decorated
with the colors of the team they ia.
vored. The craze, however, has by no
means stopped with the schoolgirls,
for many young married women have
them perched in the corner of their
favorite lounging room as an orna.
mental feature
AS one young husband who occupies
a flat observed: II don't object to
that kind of a pet. When my wife
had dog had to exercise the brute
every morning before breakfast, but
there is one thing to be said in favor
OF the bear-he gets along without a
daily airing"
In one of the large Boston depart
ment stores recently, SIX girls, none
OF whom was under Is years, were
purchasing Roosevelt bears and
laughing in great glee as they put
them through some antics before clos
ing the bargain. After they went
out the saleswoman said:
Buying them for their baby cous
ms? should say not, they bought
them for their own amusement. We
have sold hundreds of those bears
during the past few weeks and | sup
pose rs per cent. of the number were
bought for the entertainment of girls
over ten years old. do not remem
Der time when a children's toy was
taken up by girls so extensively as
these Roosevelt bears are. All sorts
of girls buy them, not only school
girls, but young women who are
earning their living"
SEES WITH ANoTHER,s EYE.