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State Symbols
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Official state symbols represent the cultural heritage
and natural treasures of each state or the entire United States |
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Mississippi Symbols
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Mississippi State Toy
Teddy Bear
Adopted on July 1, 2002.
House Bill 951 made the teddy bear Mississippi's official state toy. On July 1, 2002, the teddy bear was named in honor of the president. Roosevelt's hunting expedition in Mississippi will join ranks with other official state symbols, Rep. Steve Holland, (D) Plantersville, filed the bear bill at the request of constituent, Sarah Doxey Tate of Tupelo. Governor Musgrove signed the bill March 22, 2002.
The event which led to the creation of the Teddy Bear occurred near Onward, in 1902, when President Theodore Roosevelt, acting upon the suggestion of some friends, visited the state on a hunt for wild game. A bear was located by a member of the hunting party for the President. The bear was exhausted and possibly lame, some claim it was a mere cub. In any case, Roosevelt refused to shoot the helpless bear because he found it unsporting. News of the President's refusal to shoot the bear spread far and wide. Soon after, Morris Michtom, a New York merchant, made toy history when he created a stuffed toy bear and labeled it "Teddy's Bear. " Mr. Michtom placed the bear in the window of his candy store to draw attention. His success was so great that it led to the formation of the Ideal Toy Corporation in 1903. The Teddy Bear continues to be a favorite toy of children everywhere.
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972
As Amended
SEC. 3-3-43. State toy.
The Teddy Bear is designated the state toy of Mississippi, in recognition of
the Mississippi connection to the origin of the Teddy Bear. The connection
is that on November 14, 1902, during a hunting expedition led by
distinguished Mississippian Holt Collier in Smedes, Mississippi, President
Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a small, exhausted black bear. The shot
not fired at a baby bear in the Mississippi Delta became a great credit to
the heroic and sportsmanlike conduct of President Roosevelt, and because of
the President's journey to Mississippi, the stuffed bear toy was
appropriately named the "Teddy Bear," a positive symbol of love, comfort and
joy for children of all ages.
SOURCES: Laws, 2002, ch. 466, § 1, HB 951; Laws, 2003, ch. 361, § 1, HB 834,
eff from and after passage (approved Mar. 13, 2003).
Previous Version
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972
As Amended
SEC. 3-3-43. State toy.
The Teddy Bear is designated the state toy of Mississippi.
SOURCES: Laws, 2002, ch. 466, § 1, HB 951, eff from and after July 1, 2002.
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State Symbols
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State symbols represent things that are special to a
particular state.
symbol \ˈsim-bəl\
noun
Etymology:
in sense 1, from Late Latin symbolum, from Late Greek symbolon, from Greek, token, sign; in
other senses from Latin symbolum token, sign, symbol, from Greek symbolon, literally, token
of identity verified by comparing its other half, from symballein to throw together,
compare, from syn- + ballein to throw — more at devil
Date: 15th century
1: Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or
convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.
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