>Garstang the Gund Gorilla

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Garstang the Gund Gorilla?

It isn’t a common name, to state the obvious. It is a surname, of English (but probably pre-Norman Scandinavian) origin. It is also a market town in Lancashire, England, the county from where my ancestors emigrated. But a gorilla? I’ll need to do some investigating to find out how the Gund people happened to name this cuddly fellow Garstang. (I had a stuffed chimpanzee when I was a tot, name of Lulu, but that’s a whole other story.)

I ordered one for me. If you want your own, click here.

Update: Yeah, that’s pretty much what he looks like. Mine arrived today and now sits on my desk, next to my Beanie Buddha. No answer yet from the Gund people on what possessed them to name him Garstang, but there is a new clue: the European branch of the company is located in Preston, England, a Lancashire town just down the road from the village of Garstang and so probably the source of the name. Ironically, my ancestors emigrated from Preston in the 19th Century. And the Gorilla, in case you suspected otherwise, is made in China.