day 6 - white river, ontario

Googlemaps:  White River - Winnie the Pooh Memorial

Did you know that Winnie the Pooh came from White River, Ontario?  In 1914, Harry Colburn was a veterinarian who had enlisted to serve in WWI and was on a troop train from Winnepeg where he lived. The troops were going to training in the east before shipping out to Europe.  When the train stopped in White River, he got off and met an old man with a black bear cub on a leash. He bought it from him and brought it with him.  The bear cub served as a mascot for the troops.  He named the bear Winnie because he was from Winnepeg.  After the war, he donated it to the London Zoo. A.A. Milne was a writer which included poetry for children.  His son was named Christopher Robin Milne.  One year he bought his son a Teddy Bear for Christmas which and his son named it after the bear named Winnie which had seen at the zoo.  Pooh was the name of a friend's pet swan.