The Southwest Voice

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Ninety-four-year-old Maude Stackhouse has a passion for teddy bears. Big and small, antique and modern, singing and dancing — she loves all 571 of them.

Her daughter, Laurene, vowed she’d stop allowing any more of these cuddly creatures into her Southwest home when Maude received the 500th bear, but her promise didn’t stick for long.

“They’re so cute,” she confessed, “they jump right out at you.”

And so the collecting continued.

It all started in 1987. Maude spotted an adorable teddy at a local craft fair and had to have him. She named him “Best Bear,” and jotted his name and purchase date in a notebook. The rest is history, as they say. Best Bear sparked 20 years of teddy collecting, each of which is named and recorded in Maude’s weathered and heavily-used notebook.

When asked which bear is her favorite, she showed me not one, but three hand-sized mini-bears. These pee-wees have a special place in her heart because they went to the hospital and stayed with her until she grew strong enough to return home to her daughter and son-in-law.

Other teddies given to her by a friend are extra special, too, because this was a friendship that lasted over 75 years.

Finally, a little teddy with a shirt that reads “OIF” (Operation Iraqi Freedom) is dear to her because it’s from her great grandson, Seth, who is currently serving in Iraq.

Two rooms are overflowing with these bears, but all are meticulously arranged in showcase fashion. It seems more like a museum than a house with too many stuffed animals.

Laurene gives me a tour and points out teddies of special interest. In one corner sits a white bear that gets to claim “largest of all” status. Another emerald green one is the tiniest. Sitting gratefully on a shelf over the bed are the “orphans”— bears that were lost and then found by members of the family. My personal favorites are the ones decked out in frilly dresses and showy hats — delicate beauties whose sole purpose is to look good.

This home proudly displays other collections: coffee cups, spoons, dolphins — it’s as if there’s a family “collector gene” passed down from one generation to the next. Maude’s mother acquired dozens of salt and pepper shakers. Then Maude herself started amassing owls and giraffes. The dolphins belong to Laurene. Even son-in-law George has a modest showing of NASCAR models.

But none quite tugs at your heart the way those teddy bears do –– all 571 of them!