Winnie-the-Pooh Plaque

Inscription

On August 24, 1914 Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, V.S., of the 34th Fort Garry Horse & Canadian Army Veterinary Corps, purchased a black bear cub at WHITE RIVER, Ontario, while enroute overseas. He named her WINNIE after his hometown, Winnipeg, WINNIE became the soldiers' mascot, and was left in the care of the London Zoo on December 9th, 1914, while Lieutenant Colebourn served in France. In 1919, he gave her to the Zoo for permanent keeping where she was watched and loved by many, including author A. A. Milne and his son Christopher. In 1926, A. A. Milne and illustrator E. H. Shepard gave the fictional character WINNIE-THE-POOH to Christopher and the world for posterity. WINNIE entertained visitors to the London Zoo for almost 20 years, and lives on in the hearts of children of all ages. This sculpture was dedicated by the people of WHITE RIVER to the world on August 22, in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety-two. Designers: Anthony Van Bruggen Alvaro Cervantes Sculptor: Mr. George Barone Sponsored by: The White River District Chamber of Commerce The Walt Disney Company [UNVERIFIABLE: 3 short fragments elsewhere on this sign could not be corroborated and are not shown]

Machine-transcribed from photo · not yet human-verified · may be incomplete