Do you remember the bear on a swing at the old John Wanamaker's in Wilmington?

A teddy bear at a long-gone New Castle County department store still holds deeply cherished childhood memories for generations of Delawareans.

Do you remember the bear on a swing, a popular attraction at the old John Wanamaker's store on Augustine Cut-off in Wilmington?

When John Wanamaker's opened its $6 million, ultra-modern Delaware location on Nov. 16, 1950, overlooking the Brandywine near Alapocas and Wilmington Friends School, it was the first store in the area to offer shoppers an alternative to Market Street in Wilmington, a little over a mile away.

More than 30,000 people visited Wanamaker's on its first day in business.

The store, designed by Alfred V. du Pont, employed 500 people and was a luxury experience. Shoppers could dine in a glass-paneled Ivy Tea Room and the merchandise carried in Wilmington was the same quality and price line as the Philadelphia store.

A big brown teddy sat on a swing hanging from the ceiling on the second floor of the children's section not far from the toy department. At Christmastime, Santa Claus sat near the escalator.

A rope attached to the swing dangled low enough for children to reach it. If you pulled the rope, the teddy bear would swing. And if you pulled the rope hard enough, the bear would swing 360 degrees.

The bear on the swing kept children entertained and enthralled and it often served as a temporary babysitter as adults shopped.

"That bear was a significant figure in my early life. I can still recall the feeling of pulling on that rope!" an anonymous person wrote in a 2011 post about memories of Wilmington's John Wanamaker's store on The Department Store Museum website, an online museum of North America's independent department stores.

"My brother and I spent much time trying to get the bear to do a loop-de-loop over the bar," another commenter wrote in 2011.

Wanamaker's in Wilmington closed in 1991 to move to Christiana Mall. It was the last Wanamaker's store built. By then, the city store had lost its elegance. The paint was chipping and the carpeting was patched. Shoppers found its merchandise too conservative and fusty.

Wanamaker's closed for good in 1995 and the chain was absorbed by Hecht's and then Lord & Taylor.

The Wilmington building that housed Wanamaker's had several occupants over the years and is now home to Incyte Corp., a global biopharmaceutical company.

Somewhere along the way, the Wanamaker's bear disappeared.

It should be noted the Wilmington teddy bear was different than a plush "Rudi" stuffed teddy bear that was made for John Wanamaker's and sold in stores in the mid-1980s.

According to a 1996 Helping Hand column in The News Journal, Hecht's officials said they found the Wilmington bear in storage and planned to put the toy on a swing in the then-new Lord & Taylor store opening in the Christiana Mall.

It's not known if that ever happened or what became of that bear. (I remember seeking in vain for the bear in the store to write a follow-up article.)

Lord & Taylor at the mall closed in 2006 and the building eventually was demolished. A Target store was built in its place and opened in October 2010.

There may have been more than one bear.

In July 2009, Randy V. Johnson wrote a letter to The News Journal that said he had owned the original Wanamaker's bear. (Or at least one of them.)

He also provided a photo.

Johnson said his father Clyde Johnson began working at Wanamaker's when it opened around 1950 and continued there until his untimely death in 1971 at age 51.

Randy Johnson said as a child he lived at 26th and Harrison streets and could walk to the Wanamaker's store. When he was in high school, Randy said his father sometimes had him dress in an Easter Bunny costume. He would hand out chocolate eggs to children visiting the store.

Wanamaker's was undergoing a renovation shortly before Clyde Johnson passed away and planned to take down the bear and its swing. Store officials asked Clyde if he wanted the bear.

"It's been in our family ever since," Randy Johnson wrote in his letter. "There are such wonderful memories associated with pulling the long cord and watching the bear swing up near the ceiling.

"It's like any memory we have as children ‒ magical."

"Do you remember?" is an occasional News Journal/Delaware Online feature that looks at the history behind long-gone Delaware buildings, objects, businesses, and places.  

Contact Patricia Talorico at ptalorico@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2861 and follow her on X (Twitter) @pattytalorico Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.

More Delaware memories ...

Do You Remember?: A Delaware library once displayed a killer's skull as a grisly Halloween decoration

Remembering Smyrna's 'demon': His eyes glowed red, he wore a skirt & seduced Lana Turner.

Memorable diner: Do you remember the William Penn Diner at Hares Corner?

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Many recall Wanamaker's store bear as a 'magical' childhood memory