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Did you stay up to watch the crystal ball drop in Times Square last night? We stayed up until 11:00 o'clockish and then decided the wait wasn't worth it. We wished each other a Happy New Year, sealed it with a kiss, then turned off the lights and went to sleep.
This morning I got Navy Bean soup going in the stock pot. I soaked the beans last night before going to bed. I used the ham bone left over from our Christmas Eve dinner, and got a lot of mileage out of the ham. Aside from serving it on Christmas Eve, I made scalloped potatoes and ham, ground some up for ham sandwich spread, and today the soup will be the last of it.
While it was simmering on low, we drove downtown Detroit to see the giant teddy bear located in Nick Gilbert Way pedestrian plaza that runs between the 12-story office building and the massive 685-ft. tower that makes up 'Hudson's Detroit' on Woodward Avenue [the site where the legendary Hudson's Department Store once stood]. Only a couple vendor kiosks were open today and things were very quiet. Party goers were probably all home recouping from last nights festivities, and it was a nippy 19 degrees.
The giant teddy bear was installed October 28th to honor Hudson's Department Store's Santa Bear tradition. While the teddy bear wasn't all lit up in holiday lights today, I was happy I at least got to see him before he comes down tomorrow.
Every year from 1985 to 2007 Hudson's released a new Santa Bear. Just about every house in Metro Detroit [mine included] had one or more Santa Bears from Hudson's that would make their way out during the holiday season. The giant teddy bear is a symbol that conveys Hudson's Department Store is remembered.
On my way to Hudson's Way I passed the Kern's Clock on Woodward and Gratiot. The 91 year old clock was installed above the Ernst Kern Department Store and was a famous meeting spot until the store closed in 1959. The building was demolished in 1966 and the clock was restored and reinstalled in 2003.
Nick Gilbert, the late son of Dan Gilbert, passed away in 2023 at the age of 26 and the pedestrian plaza honors him.
The giant, iconic, and nostalgic teddy bear viewed from front and back.
There were only a couple of vendor's open and I'm sure they were freezing with no customers to keep them busy.
So this is how I spent the first day of 2026. Now I'm back home in my warm, comfy home, sipping tea. Tomorrow everything will go back to normal and it will be a regular work day.
Here's to a wonderful 2026!
