Richland County has seen different “polar” activity in recent months with the Polar Express coming to Shelby and a polar vortex chilling area residents. But, the county saw even more polar activity over 40 years ago with the presence of three polar bears in a Lexington business.
What now stands as The Cottage Shop off of East Main St. used to be a refrigeration business owned by Jesse Mason during the late 1960s.
According to a report by “The News and Courier” of Charleston, South Carolina, Mason was interested in the idea of having polar bears on display in his business’s storefront. The report states that Mason wanted a gimmick to support his company’s trademark of a polar bear sitting on an ice floe.
His hope was fulfilled when he purchased three bears from a Canadian zoo for $3,500, the report states.
Local historian Bob Carter was there to see the polar bears for himself. He stated that the bears were housed in the store’s basement where they were artificially refrigerated. The housing space was also equipped with special lighting and a water tank for the bears to swim in, said Carter.
Jane Richardson, owner of The Cottage Shop, stated that she has gradually learned about the historic story that took place in her store. “I’ve had several people come in and ask about the polar bears over the years,” she said.
Considering the store’s structure she said, “The place is built like a bomb shelter. The whole bottom is built with cement block and rebar.”
“The News and Courier” detailed that one of the polar bears named “Stupid” measured 10 ½ feet and was believed to be the largest animal in captivity.
“Stupid,” along with “Buddy Boy” and “Honey Bear’s” daily diet consisted of 30 pounds of raw lean beef, 25 pounds of dog food, and 90 loaves of day-old bread, which cost Mason $60 a day, the report further noted.
Unfortunately, Mason could not keep up with that heavy demand. “It got to the point where he couldn’t feed the bears anymore,” said Carter.
Because Mason was unable to consistently provide the bears nourishment, the local police department had to intervene and dispose of the polar bears, Carter said.
“It was a really sad situation. [Mason] had a good idea but polar bears weren’t much of an attraction around here,” stated Carter.
He added that although the attraction caught local attention, it was sort of a “one-and-done” kind of deal, where people would view the bears at least once and then not return. “If people wanted to see exotic animals, they would go to a zoo, not Lexington,” Carter said.
To prevent tragic instances such as that, the state has enacted stricter exotic animal laws, which ban private owners from acquiring, selling and breeding restricted species in Ohio. The restricted list includes lions, tigers, bears, certain monkeys, rhinos, elephants, crocodiles, alligators, anacondas and pythons longer than 12 feet, certain vipers and all venomous snakes.
Just last month, the Richland County commissioners approved the county’s Dangerous Wild Animal Response Plan, which details the protocol concerning a dangerous wild animal reporting.
(For further reading about polar bear protection, see the related story regarding global warming and extinction.)
“If people wanted to see exotic animals, they would go to a zoo, not Lexington,” Historian Bob Carter said.
