Little Balser and His Bears

Shelbyville, Indiana

Brent Balser ("Little Balser") was the short, teenage protagonist of The Bears of Blue River, a popular children's novel published in 1901 by Shelbyville resident Charles Major. The book follows Balser and his family in pioneer-day Indiana, and recounts his frequent encounters with bears, most of which end up being shot. In 1929, Shelbyville paid tribute to its author with an Italian-cast bronze statue by Mary Elizabeth Stout. It depicts a stern-looking Balser holding aloft Tom and Jerry, two bear cubs that he turned onto pets. Balser had shot and killed both of their parents, and the cubs disappear midway through the book. They probably ended up in the Balser family stew pot.