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GLEANINGS FROM THE GROVE

as we read that it was a declaration form for the the next vehicle—and perhaps, they could get

export of Canadian goods and the need to pay an their babies, er man once and for all.
excise tax on said goods and we would be fined Dear reader, you may think this to be a tall
and/or imprisoned for falsifying this declaration. tale, or even a downright lie, but it is the truth. On
At that point, the senior customs man looked my next trip to Haines, I was solo, and I stopped

at each one of us with his steely, piercing eyes, for gas at Beaver Creek, another wide spot in
and asked us “Do you have more than two the road where they sold all things Canadian,
Canadian Beanie Babies in your possession?” including Beanie Babies—but limit two per
Beanie Babies? The kid’s stuffed toys? Were they customer. Yes, I bought two going to Haines,

kidding? Clearly by their facial expressions and and two coming back from Haines, but thank
body movement they were not! goodness, no one stopped me at the customs
You see that was at the height of the Beanie and excise post. As you may know, the bottom
Babies craze in the 1990’s. Some of these toys finally dropped out of the Beanie Babies market,

were made in both the US and Canada and were and I managed to buy a dozen in the Yukon on
so marked on their body tags—the Canadian, by sale—no sign restricting them now and used
law, of course, in French and English. The rarer them as giveaways to the native villagers. The
pieces were those made in Canada, bringing on customs men had returned to being their old,

the collector’s market double or more than the friendly selves and waved me through.
price of the US ones. And Canada was fearful The Mounties were after more interesting
that the Americans would come over the criminals than I, and usually got their man, but
border, buy up all the precious Canadian-tagged the customs and excise chaps had not got me.

varieties, and sell them in the US leaving the poor Somewhere in some far flung and remote
Canadian children with no Beanie Babies to buy. excise post there might be a poster with my face
I found out later that this was a fad in all the (and side view) with big lettering “WANTED: FOR
stores in Anchorage, and the collector’s stores ILLEGAL EXPORT OF CANADIAN NATIONAL

advertised “Wanted: Canadian Tagged Beanie TREASURES” on it, and surely by now the statute
Babies” and were willing to pay handsomely for of limitations has long since expired since the
them. But back to the story at hand. great Beanie Babies caper. No pair of shiny silver
Perhaps the officer thought we had not heard bracelets and big, ugly men asking me, “Whatcha

him, or his Canadian-Scottish brogue, but he in for?” in the prison yard.
asked us again if we had any Canadian-tagged
Beanie Babies. Sadly, we all said, no. We were “O Canada, eh?”
then allowed to re-enter the car after stowing our

bags back in the “boot” and tootle off to the good
ole USA where you could buy as many Beanie
Babies as your heart desired. No cheery farewell
was issued, just that grim determination to stop

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