Stearnsy Bear Photo from Hallmark

This is a photo from Hallmark that features Stearnsy Bears. Hallmark did the setup and we supplied the bears. It was definitely made in to a poster. We have an old copy here in the shop. It may well have been on other Hallmark things. The date on this would be early 1980s. I apologize for the condition of the photo. We should have taken better care of it. Oh well, we fortunate to even have a copy.

Stearnsy Family History

Stearns Family. Audria and Emery Stearns' (Jim's mom and dad) 50th Anniversary. They're all gone now except for Sally Stearns and Charity Rose there in the backround. From left, Audria, Emery, Sally, Jim. Back, Loren (dad's older brother) and June. Charity Rose Rakoski (Stearns) has 2 daughters of her own now. Emma Rose and Annie Grace.

Strangers In Town

Posted by the Cub Reporter: It was a quiet Thursday morning here at the Stearnsy Bear Shop in Stotts City, but that was all about to change. It started when a KSN news wagon pulled up out in front of the shop. Normally Stotts City is my beat and a wee bit far off the beaten path to see much of the so called “Big Media” here. Of course, I knew immediately why they were here. Why just this morning, Wild Bill, after a night of honey wine at the Bear’s Den, had passed on to me, the rumor that Barrack Obama had been vacationing in Stotts City instead of Hawaii as had been reported. These guys obliviously were sharp to have jumped on it so quick. Why even as much as I trust Wild Bill, we were still looking for a second source before we bumped this story from rumor to reality. The presence of another news team was all the confirmation I needed.

Wild Bill on the record with the Cub Reporter.

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But when they came into the shop, I found out that that was not the case at all. Either that or theses guys were really good. But no, it had turned out they had come to do a feature piece on the bears. Well of course, that showed that they were truly sharp reporters after all. Who wouldn’t want to see a story on the finest bears in the world? Of course, they made one mistake. They decide to interview the loudmouth who runs the place. That guy will never shut up and now they have put a mike on him. How come no one ever interviews any of the bears? They are the ones who truly know what is going now. Or if not that, then at least speak to the lovely and gracious Vickie Stearns. She is the real brains of this outfit. But these guys were pros. They knew how to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. It was a pleasure to watch brethren from a different media form ply their trade. Perhaps in these days when anyone with a cell phone camera fancies himself an Eddie Adams, a picture may not be worth a 1000 words. But it’s still worth a 100 anyhow. So now I can’t wait to see their story.

Brad Douglas (left) and Mike Denny of KSN along with

yours truly. Shades of Edward R. Murrow. These guys

are good. Buy their news at here.

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As you can see from the photo, these guys didn’t look down their nose at a poor reporter who has to push a pencil for a living. I certainly appreciate that. Although if I tune in and see a story about Barack Obama in Stotts City, I will be ticked.

Typical Day in Stotts City

Posted by the Cub Preporter: I just want to brief all you Stotts City news fans about a typical summer day here at the old bear shop. Pictured above is the heart of the business district in Stotts City. Valet parking is always available. There are many things you can do in Stotts City. In fact to paraphrase Morgan Freeman's (did you hear he was in a wreck in Mississippi, I  hope he comes through okay) character Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding from the movie "The Shawshank Redemption."

"In Stotts City you can either git busy living or you can git busy buying a bear or gitting the mail, or gitting drunk or git busy dying." Because when you're in Stotts City you can visit Donna's Bar or the Stearnsy Bear Shop or the United States Post Office(not pictured, you'll have to take my word on it) or the Lakin Funeral Parlor. It's around the corner from the bar. Very handy. It's not really a parlor per say. They work on the dead folks in Pierce City and then haul them in. So it's more like a chapel. So if you are in need of any of these services please stop by. We're always open. Just don't look for a grocery store.

Here is a picture of some new folks enjoying their stay in Stotts City while they wait for new homes. "Hollander" (on the left) and "Capt'n Stotts of Lawrence County" (He's a Good American Stearnsy Bears) enjoy the cooling shade of the Stotts City Bandstand. It's where office workers would go to take their lunch if there were any offices in Stotts City.

It's funny how things work out here around the bear shop. We had no idea that Capt'n Stotts was going to show up. I'm sure all the smart people have a plan not just for today but for the future. That's why they are the successes they are and we spend our days making Teddy bears. It's daily proof to me that God has a sense of humor.

Anyhoo, we had run an ad in the Lawrence County Record, the outstanding local weekly paper, looking for vintage furs. Remind me not to do that again. We found out lots of people have furs in their closets and each is quite valuable to them. I mean, we can't afford to pay what Grandma paid. So like most of my ideas, I find this didn't work out like I envisioned. Probably that darned lack of planning. But one day a local couple showed up and they had a fur that had seen a lot of American History. I had my doubts but Vicky could see through what looked bad to the heart of the coat and she knew there was something special there. So we gave the elderly couple a check for $40.00. This made us feel good because we also helped out the local economy. They took that check right in to the bar next door. What happened to the money after is unknown to us.
Each fur coat is different. It depends on the type of fur, how they have stored, how good a quality they were to start with. So the fur kind of has the final say about what kind  of bear we can make. So with this fur we began to cut away the bad stuff. There are always what we would call nicks and bruises in older furs but to us that is just character. But this mink had been stored in a barrel in a shed for no telling how long. That's an improper fur storage technique. But as we began to trim, the fur that was left got better and better. You could see how beautiful the mink was. It had a really cool pattern effect in the grain. It's hard to see in the pictures. We cut most of the coat away but what was left was perfect. Then we started in with our own little bit of practical magic. So that is how Capt'n Stotts showed up. The Capt'n is around 22" tall standing up which is what he does when the flag passes by. The mink had a little twist which showed up in his face. We thought it gave him kind of a quizzical Stotts City look. You know like, "What just happened." Capt'n Stotts prefers not to go most places without his vintage American Flag. Capt'n always says ,"better safe than sorry, if you're not carrying a flag, how could anyone tell that you really are a Good American Bear."
 
So to close off our tour of Stotts City we leave you with the phrase that all us hicks around here like to say, "I thought I could make it." Wait, check that, that's what Charlie Estes said after a truck hit his car while he was trying to cross the highway. What I meant to say was "Only in America but mostly only in Stotts City."
http://www.stearnsybears.com/

The Old Warrior in his new home

The Old Warrior arrived at the shop on Tuesday after a
long hard trip by parcel post. He thought they could have at least used Priority Mail. But all was forgiven after he saw the shop and all of his new friends. He was afraid he was destined to live out his days without a friendly bear to bend an ear with. But now here he is in a place with 1oos of new friends all anxious to hear his stories. Because at Stearnsy Bears polite conversation is still appreciated and gracious behavior is expected. The young bears still respect their elders as well.

Vicky was just as excited to see him as he was to see her. And then wonder of wonders she sat him in a chair with a cushion in the seat. He had never sat in a chair with a cushion in the seat, in fact he never knew such a pleasure existed. Now he had found a spot to spend the rest of his days.

The Old Warrior arrived with a couple of reddish spots on his fur. Later on that day we overheard him telling Wild Bill a story about them and how they had something to do with a Mexican Bandit. But we haven't verified that yet. You can stop by the shop any day to visit with him and the rest of the Stearnsy Bears of Stotts City. But allow enough time to hear a story or two.

http://www.stearnsybears.com/