A little kindness goes a long way, says Loren Groff

 “I like Teddy Bears,” says Loren Groff, who has 138 little stuffed animals in his home at Cottonwood Ridge Apartments.

“It’s an addiction,” he says.  

He goes to garage sales and buys all the Teddy Bears that he finds.

Then he gives them away. 

He likes to make children happy.

“It started when I was a kid,” Groff said during a recent interview.  Every Christmas he received a Teddy Bear from Santa.  He liked the little stuffed animals so much that his parents continued to give him a bear every Christmas.

“I’m 76-years-old and I still sleep with my Teddy Bear,” said a grinning Groff.   The little brown Teddy Bear that is missing an ear, perched on the headboard of his bed, is 70 years old, and was a Christmas gift when he was a small child. That bear is a keeper; while others still remain with his family. 

Groff’s collection also includes the Christmas Grinch, a couple of reindeer, a singing Peter Cottontail, some crocheted bears, and handmade cloth dolls 

Little visitors to Cotton-wood Ridge Apartments will most likely leave with a Teddy Bear.  Groff provides children the opportunity to select their favorites from his collection.  He even hands out Teddy Bears to children who come tricks ‘n treating on Halloween. “If I can make a kid smile,  I’m happy,” he

smile, I’m happy,” he said.

Groff touches many lives with his kindness.  He recently was recognized by KEYC TV with the Jefferson Good People Award. Last spring he received the Community Service Award from Catholic United Financial.

Groff has added service to others to add happiness to is life.  After his wife died in 1994, he was lonely and sad, so he decided to keep busy doing volunteer work to fill his time and create a greater purpose to his life.   He volunteers at St. John’s Circle of Care at least four times a week. He wheels residents to church services and special entertainment, and he assists with Bingo games. 

He works at the Springfield Food Shelf where he stocks shelves, tracks inventory, and offers a smile and help to shoppers.

During summers, he grills hamburgers at softball games, and works in the concession stand at the go-cart track.

Recently, he’s found another way to serve his neighbors.  He gets out of bed at 3:30 a.m. daily, fetches the newspapers from the lobby and quietly places them at the front doors to apartment residents. 

A little kindness goes a long way to make people happy.

“If I can make people smile, I am happy,” he said. 

The story of the Teddy Bear

The Teddy Bear was invented in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt. It all began when Theodore Roosevelt was on a bear hunting trip near Onward, Mississippi, on November 14, 1902. He had been invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino, and unlike other hunters in the group, had not located a single bear.

Roosevelt’s assistants, led by Holt Collier, a born slave and former Confederate cavalryman, cornered and tied a black bear to a willow tree. They summoned Roosevelt and suggested that he shoot it. Viewing this as extremely unsportsmanlike, Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear. The news of this event spread quickly through newspaper articles across the country. The articles recounted the story of the president who refused to shoot a bear. However, it was not just any president, it was Theodore Roosevelt the big game hunter!

A political cartoonist by the name of Clifford Berryman read the article and decided to lightheartedly lampoon the president’s refusal to shoot the bear. Berryman’s cartoon appeared in the Washington Post on November 16, 1902. A Brooklyn candy shop owner by the name of Morris Michtom saw the cartoon and had an idea. He and his wife Rose were also makers of stuffed animals, and Michtom decided to create a stuffed toy bear and dedicate it to the president who refused to shoot a bear. He called it ‘Teddy’s Bear.’

After receiving Roosevelt’s permission to use his name, Michtom mass produced the toy bears which were so popular that he soon founded the Ideal Toy Company. To this day the Teddy Bear has worldwide popularity and its origin can be traced back to Theodore’s fateful hunting trip in 1902 happy,” he said.

Groff touches many lives with his kindness.  He recently was recognized by KEYC TV with the Jefferson Good People Award. Last spring he received the Community Service Award from Catholic United Financial.

Groff has added service to others to add happiness to is life.  After his wife died in 1994, he was lonely and sad, so he decided to keep busy doing volunteer work to fill his time and create a greater purpose to his life.   He volunteers at St. John’s Circle of Care at least four times a week. He wheels residents to church services and special entertainment, and he assists with Bingo games. 

He works at the Springfield Food Shelf where he stocks shelves, tracks inventory, and offers a smile and help to shoppers.

During summers, he grills hamburgers at softball games, and works in the concession stand at the go-cart track.

Recently, he’s found another way to serve his neighbors.  He gets out of bed at 3:30 a.m. daily, fetches the newspapers from the lobby and quietly places them at the front doors to apartment residents. 

A little kindness goes a long way to make people happy.

“If I can make people smile, I am happy,” he said.