Billy Possum

Stuffed toy depicting an opossum

An advertisement for Billy Possum, c. 1909

Billy Possum is a type of stuffed toy depicting an opossum. Designed to be the replacement for the Teddy bear after Theodore Roosevelt vacated the office of President of the United States in 1909, the toy's popularity waned quickly, with the trend having lost all momentum by Christmas of that year.

## History

[edit]

The feast in Atlanta attended by William Howard Taft on January 15, 1909, where roasted opossum was served

Created by Morris Michtom, the Teddy bear is a stuffed animal toy that was inspired by a 1902 political cartoon depicting Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot a bear on a hunting trip. The toy was largely successful, becoming an iconic toy. Roosevelt did not seek a third term as president, and was replaced by William Howard Taft in 1909.[1]

Following his victory in the presidential race, Taft traveled to the state of Georgia for a vacation. He visited the city of Atlanta on January 15, where he was served persimmon beer, sweet potatoes, and an eighteen-pound roasted opossum. The dish, known as "possum-n-'taters", was popular in the Southern United States at the time, although it's unclear who suggested the dish. Some newspapers at the time reported that Taft requested the dish himself, while others suggested that it was decided by the hosts. A trade magazine for toys and games suggested that it was Asa Griggs Candler, the founder of The Coca-Cola Company, who at the time was president of the Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta.[1] The meal was prepared and served by black servants for white attendees, as was common in wealthy southern homes at the time. The feast provided unspoken racial commentary, reassuring white attendees that Taft would not appoint black people to positions of power in the South.[2]

Outside of this event, Taft was known to eat opossums regularly, with The New York Times once writing that they "earnestly beg Mr. Taft to stop with the 'possum".[3] When Taft began traveling the country, people would often gift him live opossums in cages, and live opossums were mailed to the White House on multiple occasions.[4]

Toymakers feared that with Roosevelt no longer in office, Teddy bears would cease to be popular.[5] Cartoonist Lewis C. Gregg saw Taft's opossum feast as an opportunity to create a new presidential animal-themed toy, and presented Taft with a toy opossum called Billy Possum after he had finished his meal. The crowd present laughed at the toy for several minutes.[6] Taft gave Gregg his blessing to use his name for the toy, and Gregg's company, the Georgia Billy Possum Company, began to produce the toys. Originally, the company intended to create toys from literal stuffed opossum skins, but the result was described as "fleshy-looking and repulsive—like a pale, limp rat", leading to the creation of the plush version instead.[7] The company's slogan was "Good-bye, Teddy Bear. Hello, Billy Possum".[5][8] In addition to plush toys, the character of Billy Possum was featured on post cards, buttons, figurines, china, puzzles, and other merchandise.[1] Despite this, the toy failed, with the company losing popularity before the Christmas season of 1909.[5][8]

The failure of Billy Possum has been attributed to the fact that the toy was the result of a manufactured trend,[1] as well as the fact that the story behind Taft eating an opossum was less compelling than the story of Roosevelt sparing a bear.[8]

## Legacy

[edit]

Billy Possum, Herbert Hoover's pet, photographed in 1929

President Calvin Coolidge had a cage built on the grounds of the White House for his pet raccoon, Rebecca. After Coolidge left office and Herbert Hoover took his place, a wild opossum began to live in Rebecca's former cage. Hoover named the opossum Billy Possum in reference to Taft. Hoover's Billy Possum temporarily became the mascot of a baseball team in Hyattsville, Maryland after the team lost their own opossum.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "TR Center - Billy Possum". www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
2. ^ Winick, Stephen (2019-09-09). "Politics and Possum Feasts: Presidents Who Ate Opossums | Folklife Today". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
3. ^ LaFrance, Adrienne (2015-11-26). "Would You Eat a Possum for Thanksgiving?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
4. ^ Fuller, Jaime (2021-11-26). "Politicians and possums? It's complicated". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
5. ^ a b c "Billy Possum". Ohio History Connection. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
6. ^ Dorre, Howard (2023-05-09). "The Possum and Taters Feast That Launched "Billy Possum"". Plodding through the Presidents. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
7. ^ Avins, Jenni (2018-11-12). "Before Trumpy Bear, president William Howard Taft had "Billy Possum"". Quartz. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
8. ^ a b c "Billy Possum: President Taft's Answer to the Teddy Bear". Mental Floss. 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
9. ^ "The Story of Herbert Hoover's Billy Possum". The New Leaf Journal. 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2024-03-25.

* v
* t
* e

Teddy bears

Manufacturers|

* Applause (defunct)
* Build-A-Bear Workshop
* Chad Valley
* Dakin (defunct)
* J. K. Farnell (defunct)
* Gund
* Ideal Toy Company
* Margarete Steiff GmbH
* Merrythought
* Teddy Atelier Stursberg
* Teddy-Hermann
* Ty Inc.
* Vermont Teddy Bear Company

Types|

* AG Bear
* Beanie Babies
* Boyds Bears
* Care Bears
* Coffee Bean Bears
* Forever Friends
* Furskin Bears
* Gund Snuffles
* Holiday Beanie Babies
* Me to You Bears
* Punkinhead
* WereBears

Museums|

* Dorset Teddy Bear Museum
* Teddy bear museum
* Teddy Bear Museum of Naples

Fictional
teddies|

* Aloysius
* Archibald Ormsby-Gore
* Baloo
* Bamse
* Banjo
* Benjamin Bear
* Berlino
* Big Ted & Little Ted
* Bobo (The Simpsons)
* Boog
* Corduroy
* Costco bear
* Duffy the Disney Bear
* Fozzie Bear
* Freddy Fazbear
* Grizzly Teddy
* Gummibär
* Harrods Christmas Bears
* Humphrey the Bear
* Hyde
* Lotso
* Microsoft Bear
* Misha
* Uszatek
* Monokuma
* Mr Whoppit
* Nassur
* Nev
* Norm
* Paddington Bear
* Pink teddy bear (Breaking Bad)
* Po
* Pooky
* Pudsey Bear
* Rasmus
* Roger (Guilty Gear)
* Rilakkuma
* Rupert
* Rupert (Family Guy)
* Sebastian Star Bear
* Smokey
* Snuggle Bear
* Sooty
* SuperTed
* Teddy (The Forgotten Toys)
* Teddy (Mr. Bean)
* Teddy Ruxpin
* Winnie-the-Pooh
* Disney version

Film and
television|

* A.I. Artificial Intelligence
* The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin
* Adventures of the Gummi Bears
* Bananas in Pyjamas
* Bear Behaving Badly
* Becky and Barnaby Bear
* Boonie Bears
* C Bear and Jamal
* Charley and Mimmo
* Corduroy
* Colargol
* Gooby
* Hey Mister, Let's Play!
* Imaginary
* Issi Noho
* Kissyfur
* Kooky
* Little Bear
* movie
* Misery Bear
* Old Bear Stories
* Paddington (TV series)
* Paddington (Paddington 2 and Paddington in Peru)
* The Pit
* Rilakkuma and Kaoru
* "Rosebud" (The Simpsons)
* The Secret World of Benjamin Bear
* Special Agent Oso
* SuperTed
* The Tangerine Bear
* Ted (Ted 2 and Ted (TV series))
* Teddy
* Teddy Bear
* Teddybears
* The Teddy Bear Master
* The 'Teddy' Bears
* Teddy Edward
* Teddy Trucks
* Unicorn Wars
* The Upstairs Downstairs Bears
* The Yogi Bear Show

Books|

* A Pocket for Corduroy
* Corduroy
* Hyde & Closer
* Little Bear
* Old Bear and Friends
* The Berenstain Bears
* Polar the Titanic Bear
* The Sharpie of the Culebra Cut
* Supertoys Last All Summer Long
* The Toyminator
* Undertown
* Uppo-Nalle
* Winkie
* Winnie-the-Pooh

Music|

* "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear"
* "Psycho Teddy"
* "Teddy Bears' Picnic"
* "The Teddy Bear Song"
* "Itsumademo... Teddy Bear"

Video games|

* Ah Diddums
* Among the Sleep
* Bear with Me
* Big Huggin'
* Build-A-Bear Workshop
* Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise
* Hubert the Teddy Bear: Winter Games
* Opération Teddy Bear
* Teddy Together
* Naughty Bear

Snacks|

* Gummy bears
* Teddy Grahams
* Tiny Teddy

Related|

* Billy Possum
* Peter Bull
* Round and Round the Garden
* Richard Steiff
* Stuffed toys
* Sudanese blasphemy case
* Teddybear Airdrop Minsk 2012
* Teddy bear hospital
* Teddy bear parachuting
* Teddy Bear Review
* Teddy bear toss
* Teddy bears of the Gobelins
* Theodore Roosevelt

* v
* t
* e

William Howard Taft

* 10th Chief Justice of the United States (1921–1930)
* 27th President of the United States (1909–1913)
* 3rd Provisional Governor of Cuba (1904)
* 42nd United States Secretary of War (1904–1908)
* Governor-General of the Philippines (1901–1904)
* 6th Solicitor General of the United States (1890–1892)

Presidency
(timeline)|

* 1909 inauguration
* Dollar diplomacy
* Income Tax amendment
* Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act
* Weeks Act
* Federal Corrupt Practices Act
* Wireless Ship Act of 1910
* Apportionment Act of 1911
* North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911
* Mann–Elkins Act
* Radio Act of 1912
* Defense Secrets Act of 1911
* Pinchot–Ballinger controversy
* Commission on Economy and Efficiency
* U.S. occupation of Nicaragua
* United States Chamber of Commerce
* Ceremonial first pitch
* State of the Union Address 1912
* Cabinet
* Judicial appointments
* Supreme Court
* First Oval Office

Chief Justice,
Supreme Court|

* Supreme Court career
* Judiciary Act of 1925
* Creation of the Supreme Court Building
* Taft Court cases

Other actions|

* Taft Commission
* Insular Government of the Philippine Islands
* Philippines Civil Governor, 1901–1904
* Taft–Katsura agreement
* 1906–1909 Occupation of Cuba
* League to Enforce Peace
* National War Labor Board

Life and legacy|

* Early life
* Birthplace, home, and historic site
* Woodbury Point
* Taft Bridge
* Bibliography
* U.S. Postage stamps
* Taft, Montana
* High school (New York City
* Chicago
* Los Angeles
* San Antonio)

Elections|

* 1908 Republican National Convention
* 1908 U.S. presidential election
* 1912 Republican National Convention
* 1912 U.S. presidential election

Family|

* Helen Herron Taft (wife)
* Robert Alphonso Taft (son)
* Helen Taft Manning (daughter)
* Charles Phelps Taft II (son)
* William Howard Taft III (grandson)
* Robert Alphonso Taft Jr. (grandson)
* Seth Taft (grandson)
* Alphonso Taft (father)
* Louise Taft (mother)
* Charles Phelps Taft (brother)
* Henry Waters Taft (brother)
* Horace Dutton Taft (brother)
* Peter Rawson Taft (paternal grandfather)

Related|

* Billy Possum
* Progressive Era
* Pauline Wayne (cow)
* Backstairs at the White House (1979 miniseries)
* Theodore Roosevelt (2022 miniseries)

* ← Theodore Roosevelt
* Woodrow Wilson →

* Category

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