‘Bear Town’ bears are everywhere; can you find them all?

Stubby and stocky statues of black bears are all over the place in New Bern, N.C. 

Collectively, they are a curious lot, challenging all who travel U.S. 70 to pause in “Bear Town” and look for their paws. 

Kim Grizzard of the Greenville (N.C.) Daily Reflector said there are more than 80 fiberglass/ceramic “Bear Town Bears” stationed throughout the city. They were introduced as part of New Bern’s 300-year anniversary observance in 2010.

 

The bear is more than a mascot, Grizzard said. Bears are “part of the heritage of North Carolina’s second oldest town.” 

“The bear is the symbol of Bern, Switzerland, the hometown of a group of settlers that founded New Bern” in the early 1700s,” she wrote. 

Each “Bear Town Bear” is an ambassador for the city, serving to welcome visitors and guests. Their sponsors have assigned the bears interesting names, designed to evoke a chuckle. Here are some of the local favorites: 

“Bear-ly Legal” is sponsored by Stubbs & Perdue Law Firm. Artist: Gee Vee Meyer. 

“Honey, I’m Home” is sponsored by Coldwell Banker Willis Smith. Artist: Donna Woodruff. 

“Dr. Paw” is sponsored by William Hand III Dentistry. Artist: Molly Knazek. 

“Tooth Beary” is sponsored by Kincaid & Purvis Dentistry. Artist: Glenna Davis. 

“Bearon De Graffenried” is sponsored by Union Point Park. Artist: Barbara Hesketh. 

(Baron Christoph von Graffenried of Bern, Switzerland, relinquished his office as a minor government official there because he wanted to find fortune in America. He is considered the founder of New Bern.) 

Bear Town Bears is operated as a joint project between the New Bern Tourism and Development Authority and Craven Arts Council & Gallery. 

The “Flag Bearer” bear at New Bern’s City Hall was replaced in 2020. The original statue washed away during Hurricane Florence in 2018.

 

“Flag Bearer represents our city, our state and our country,” said Matthew Montanye, Director of Public Works. He told WITN-TV that efforts to replace the bear ran into snags when the pandemic hit. 

“It actually took us the better part of six or seven months to actually get the bear manufactured and shipped to New Bern before we could have it painted,” Montanye said. 

The original artist Vicki Vitale-Farrow was asked to paint the new Flag Bearer, and she said she made a few additions to the statue to strengthen the symbolism and illustrate“freedom, patriotism and the love of the country.” 

She is also the artist of “Semper Fi,” the bear that greets folks at New Bern’s Coastal Carolina Regional Airport. The bear stands tall in the airport’s main lobby wearing his Marine Corps Dress Blue uniform. 

“It’s for all the Marines who come in and out of this airport and for what they do for our country,” said Vitale-Farrow. Semper Fi was assigned the rank of corporal.

 

One of the newest bears in town stands watch at Saint Paul Catholic Church. Its named is “Ursus Paulus,” which the Rev. Tom Tully said is Latin for “Paul the Bear,” reflecting the Catholic tradition. The artist is Sandy Bruno. 

Even though Saint Paul was not one of the original 12 companions of Jesus, he considered himself an Apostle sent by Christ, said Neela Kale, a writer based in the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore. 

“Paul was such a pivotal figure in the spread of the gospel that the Church has also applied this title to him, calling him ‘the Apostle to the Gentiles,’” she said.