Last fall we visited Winnipeg Manitoba Canada. We had a fantastic day at the Assiniboine Zoo. I looked back at some of those photos and wanted to share a few today.
This is a wonderful sculpture.
I did get one not so great photo of the plaque.
It says:
On August 24, 1914 while enroute overseas during World War I Lieutenant Harry Colebourn V.S.of the 34th Fort Garry Horse Regiment of Manitoba purchased a black Canadian bear cub at White River Ontario and named him Winnie after his home town. The bear became the pet of the soldiers. While Lieutenant Colebourn served in France she was left in care of the London Zoo. In 1919 he gave her to the zoo where she was visited and loved by many, including the author A.A. Milne and his son Christopher.
In 1926 A. A. Milne gave the fictional character Winnie The Pooh named after Lieutenant Colebourn’s bear to Christopher Robin and his friends for posterity. Winnie died at the London Zoo on May 12, 1934.
“Winnie the Bear”. By Sculptor William Epp was donated to the children of the world August 6, 1992.
It is rumored that the bear was orphaned and purchased from a hunter for 10 dollars. Lieutenant Colebourn was a Veterinarian, apparently the bear was smuggled into France aboard a troop ship. What fun it must have been for those soldiers headed off to war.
I love art with a story:)
What a nice story. I've always loved Winnie the Pooh, now I know his history.
ReplyDeleteYup sure is a awesome story ! I love Winnie the Pooh storys and I used to watch the show with my kids ! Awesome photos and post. Have a great day !
DeleteI am amazed to find that Winnie the Pooh was a real live bear! What a good story. I am glad to find Winnie lived a good life, even if it was in captivity
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting story. Again,I learned something new!!
ReplyDeleteAmazing! I never knew that and Winnie was big at our house when mt children were growing up. Now I have something to tell them and my grandchildren! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of the original Winnie the Pooh. So this was a fun read.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your post. I never imagined the back story. It will make Pooh's story more special.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story!
ReplyDeleteThis is so wonderful to know. When my grandie is old enough, I'll read him Winnie the Pooh and tell him this story!
ReplyDeletePeace,
Muff
It seems to me that this story had been in our news not that long ago. Maybe there was some big Winnie the Pooh story happening, and us Canadians just wanted to reaffirm our Canadian connection:)
ReplyDeleteGreat statue though! Just hope the guy tipped the bottle up higher when he was actually feeding that bear. Don't want it sucking on air:)
(I let a friend feed a bottle lamb once and she didn't hold the bottle high enough, and I ended up with a bloated lamb)
Oh, now that just makes me want to take a vacation to Winnipeg! ...and do some family history research, too, while I'm there!
ReplyDelete;)
And while you were in Winterpeg, LOL you were only a few short days drive from the Okanagan....and you didn't come to visit. I know, I bugged you about that the last time also.
ReplyDeleteWinnie is such a great story, a lovable character, and hey, he's Canadian eh.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Interesting story- love the sculpture.
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome sculpture. Were the polar bear sculpture still up? They made about 30 sculptures all the same and then had various artist paint the bears in various wild colors. It was cool to see these through the downtown.
ReplyDeleteI did not see any Polar Bear sculptures Red..but I bet they were awesome:)
DeleteWhat a sweet sculpture. And I loved the story -- it's so much fun to go blog-browsing. I learn something new every time...
ReplyDeleteI had no clue that Winnie the Pooh was based on a real live bear! I love hearing the stories behind the art, too. Thanks for sharing that. :)
ReplyDeleteI've always been a huge fan to Winnie the Pooh but have never heard this story. This was great and now I'm just a bigger fan!!!
ReplyDeleteGod bless and thanks for sharin'!!! :o)
I love this story! I am a big Winnie the Pooh fan. My story: Son says, "Why was I named Dylan? Me: "Well if you ask your father, you were named for the Welsh poet. However, I agreed to it because even though Bob Dylan can't sing a lick, he was a wonderful wordsmith." Son says, "So I was named for a 60's rock star?!! Cool. So where'd Christopher come from?" Me: "You were named after Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh. 'But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his bear will always be playing.'" Son: "Um. Okay. Can that part be our little secret?"
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