A Hill City woman's unique collection garners nationwide fame - KOTA Territory News

A Hill City woman's unique collection garners nationwide fame

While you won't see any wild bears in the Black Hills, there are close to eight thousand that call one KOTA Territory town home.

What started as a small collection for Jackie Miley a decade ago, has now garnered her national fame.

"I'm getting more fame then I ever expected," said Miley.

Phone calls continue to pour in from across the country from reporters wanting interviews.

Thursday's call was from a radio station in Iowa to discuss her record setting collection.

"I've got a few, 7,832," said Miley.

That's 7,832 teddy bears.

Miley holds the Guinness Book of World Records for her collection.

It's displayed in a small house on Main Street in Hill City; aptly named Teddy Bear Town.

Miley said she grew up in foster care in Minnesota and never had a teddy bear of her own. But a decade ago that all changed. While visiting her son, she bought and made her first teddy bear at Build-A-Bear, and the rest was history. 

As her collection grew closer to 8 hundred, she realized she almost had more bears then there were people living in town.

"That was my goal, just to say I had as many bears as the population, I don't recall saying 10 times that amount," said Miley.

And her numbers continued to grow as people sent their bears to join her collection.

"I've got bears from all 50 states; from many different countries including Norway and Mexico. I've got people's first bears and bears in memory of people who've past," said Miley.

As word of her collection continues to spread, so does her collection itself. In one day she received seven bears in the mail.

But Miley says her larger than life hobby is about more than setting records.

"This isn't about me and Guinness and Ripley's and all that stuff anymore. I refer to it as a house of memories," said Miley.

A house that's earned Miley fame and in a way, fortune.

"The fortune is in all the people I've met. To entrust me with their memories of their teddy bears, or of their loved ones, you can't put a price on that," said Miley.

As Miley's collection continues to out- grow the small house, she hopes to expand the space this fall.

Her goal is to be able to display every bear and possibly add a 'Build-A-Bear' like feature.