Surprise, Surprise

No sooner do I write to Mike Johnson than I get a nice email back saying that Totem Teddy has been discussed by alumni recently and there may be interest now to do something about my favorite UNC tradition.. or a tradition about to be re-born. It's been seven years since I embossed the original Totem Teddy, seven years since he went back to Alaska, five years since the Ghost Memory Totem was installed in the University Center thanks to the UC crew headed up by Ronna Sanchez, Jay Dinges and with the support of Michael Johnson. It's been two years since I removed that installation and donated it to the UNC Archives.

I hope that my version of the Bear Totem, as I've proposed and attempted to donate to the university, may be given a suitable place on campus. There's no reason why more than one piece of art may be installed, is there?

Actually, in the early 2000s when I first learned that Totem Teddy would be returned to the Tlingit, I started research to make castings of the original totem in anticipation of making a duplicate. A neighbor of mine, a special effects guy, is a sculptor who does life castings. His casting would have been expensive, including air fare and accommodations in Greeley. But, we could have had an accurate cast. Now, for a replica to be made, whether by a sculptor for a bronze or by a Native Carver, many photos and measurements will be necessary. I think, for a true to tradition reproduction, I'd suggest a Tlingit artisan.

The expense for a photo realistic replica will be more expensive now than it might have been in 2003, but if there are, at last, alumni who will pony up the funds, it will be exciting to help however I can. A bronze sculptor told me in 2005 that the bronze alone for a totem 13 feet tall and about five feet in circumference would cost more than $20,000. Of course, I still want to make my donation to UNC at my own expense, as I've said here. But, I'm happy that alums are now showing an interest.

Interesting that I went from sincerely advocating a bronze or a carved totem several years ago to my own version of the direct image of the totem and now to my current abstract idea, the ReIncarnation of Totem Teddy. Of course, that was because no one wanted to do the more expensive options and I just really wanted to do something before we lost the Bear all together.

To me, the Spirit of Totem Teddy will live as long as just one person retains an interest. The challenge now is to create an atmosphere where those actually living in Greeley, students, et al, will begin to appreciate for themselves, in their own ways, the deep feelings I've had for over sixty years. For me, nostalgia is like a warm breeze that, when it wafts gently in, carries us back to feelings that are reminded of in no other way. Have we become so cynical that alma mater is soon forgotten after graduation ? I really hope not.

Michael Sheehan
CSC '63