European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 24, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday july 24, 1993 the stars and stripes Page 3 s43 dm0dkjlo the or liners David Diana Kristie 3, and Teddy Bear. Diana Grulner with a few of her wooden Teddy bean in the family Home at Raf Alconbury England. Sa3 photo do Dato couple s move had its by Nancy  . Bureau Raf Alconbury England deciding what must stay and what had to go when moving from a Large House on the Economy into smaller base quarters was a Bear of a problem for Diana Griner. Griner 27, a Secretary for the 352nd special operations group at Raf Alconbury recently was forced by her new limited space to Weed out a majority of the nearly 400 Teddy bears in the collection she has amassed since 1986. It could have killed me Griner said. All of them Are my  Griner was familiar with the size of base quarters previously having served in the air Force for 7vi years. But when she and her husband decided to move off the Economy she expected her bears to move with her. I had it All planned. We could just live without a couple of other things but he would t go for it Griner said referring to her husband David a 30-year old technical sergeant with the 352nd special operations group s maintenance Squadron. So instead she was forced to ship most of her collection Home where a wide Range of other Teddy bears including porcelain and stuffed Are waiting in storage. The bears that succumbed to the reduction in forces filled six 2-foot-by-2-foot boxes. However there is evidence throughout the House that David Griner is fairly tolerant of 1m wife s love of four legged creatures. You get used to living with them David Griner said. I have to admit it gets very expensive at times. But if she s Happy i m  their living room is filled with dozens of Ceramic bean of All sizes. Her collection also includes a foot tall fanciful treehouse made of Cork that has Teddy bears attached to it a crocheted tissue Box cover that sports Teddy bears Teddy Bear coasters a Teddy Bear. Bank and picture frames with Teddy bears engraved on the edges. One of the frames has a music Box attached to it that plays Teddy Bear s picnic i collect just about anything Teddy Bear Wise Griner said. In the Kitchen tiny bears peek out from behind spice jars and plants. The refrigerator is covered with Teddy Bear magnets and the soap dispenser is in the shape of a Teddy Bear. There used to be paper towels with Teddy Bear pictures on them but David said no More Griner said. David Griner also vetoed a bathroom decor of Wall to Wall Teddy bears that Griner had installed in a Sec Ond bathroom in their previous House. The base House has Only one bathroom everything was Teddy bears. It was great Griner said. David did t think so. He said i think we should moments s&3 photo Pavc Zidlo sitting amid a sampling of her vast collection Diana Griner gives a Bear hug to one of her stuffed critters. Tone Down on the Teddy bears for a bit " the real showcase however is in the couple s bed room where More than two dozen Teddy bears Are Dis played on shelves the desk and the bed. These Are the expensive ones such As the Raikes from California which have hand carved wooden faces and paws and the stiffs made in Germany. Stiffs Are like the Mercedes of bears Griner said. The most valuable Teddy Bear known is called Happy a 24-Inch Steiff made in the 1920s, Griner  was valued in 1990 at $86,350 and belongs to an american couple that has a collection of More than 3,000 Teddy bears a goal that Diana Griner would t mind achieving some Day. I could be worried if it got to that stage David Griner said. Griner did t place a value on her bears but she has a number of limited edition bears and an antique Bear that she picked up for under $5 at a British rummage Sale. She now has her Eye on a Norman Schwarzkopf Bear which is dressed in a military uniform and carries a Price tag of $675. It s profitable but that s not what i m in it for Griner said. I just want to show them  Griner gathers information about her Hobby from the dozens of Teddy Bear magazines that she buys. In fact she did t really become smitten until she bought her first Teddy Bear Magazine and got a look at the thousands of bears that were available. Then David was in trouble and the rest was history Griner said. So far her fascination with Teddy bears has t rubbed off on the couple s daughter Kristie. Despite living in a Teddy Bear Paradise the 3-year old has t shown much interest in them. So when decorating Kristie s room at the new House Griner decided on a Disney theme. She does t care anything about bears actually and i did t want to Force feed her bears Griner said. Al though it the bedroom decor is Winnie the