Saturday, February 18, 2012

Winnie The Bear

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.

Winnie the Bear at winnipeg zoo

This is a wonderful sculpture.

Sculpture at the winnipeg zoo

I did get one not so great photo of the plaque.

Winnie The Bear

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:)

19 comments:

Moms Musings said...

What a nice story. I've always loved Winnie the Pooh, now I know his history.

Country Gal said...

Yup 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 !

DJan said...

I 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

Muffy's Marks said...

That is an interesting story. Again,I learned something new!!

Sam I Am...... said...

Amazing! 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!

Lanny said...

I am a huge fan of the original Winnie the Pooh. So this was a fun read.

Marti said...

Enjoyed your post. I never imagined the back story. It will make Pooh's story more special.

LadyFi said...

What a great story!

Muffie said...

This is so wonderful to know. When my grandie is old enough, I'll read him Winnie the Pooh and tell him this story!
Peace,
Muff

Karen said...

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:)
Great 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)

Jacqi Stevens said...

Oh, now that just makes me want to take a vacation to Winnipeg! ...and do some family history research, too, while I'm there!

;)

RURAL said...

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.

Winnie is such a great story, a lovable character, and hey, he's Canadian eh.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Interesting story- love the sculpture.

Red said...

This 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.

I Wonder Wye said...

What a sweet sculpture. And I loved the story -- it's so much fun to go blog-browsing. I learn something new every time...

Far Side of Fifty said...

I did not see any Polar Bear sculptures Red..but I bet they were awesome:)

Rita said...

I 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. :)

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

I'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!!!

God bless and thanks for sharin'!!! :o)

Debby said...

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?"