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Steiff lion finds new home at John Marshall High School

GLEN DALE -- When students enter John Marshall High School on the first day of school Tuesday, they will be greeted by a new friend.

A giant stuffed toy lion made by Steiff now stands in the lobby of the school. It was donated recently by the Butch Miller family.

Principal Jason Marling said the toy is a welcome addition to the school.

"I was at work a couple weeks ago and a gentleman stopped by and asked if we would like to have a stuffed lion of high quality donated to the school," Marling said. "I said, 'Sure that would be great.' I was shocked at how cool it looked and the quality of it. It looked perfect for JM."

Marling said he was not familiar with the Steiff brand but was told it was a valuable piece.

The retail price for a new, large Steiff toy can be thousands of dollars.

"The family was doing some cleaning up and they were looking for a place to donate it, and they thought John Marshall would be great, and they had some connections to John Marshall," Marling said.

JM is the home of the Monarchs and its mascot is the lion.

"It took two of us to carry it in. It is a pretty big thing," he said. "I looked it up and it's quite a bit to buy one new. It looks like a great addition to John Marshall."

Marling said they have not decided what will be done with the lion, but for now it will be on display in the lobby.

"We thought about a naming contest. The teachers are going to be there Thursday and we're going to get some ideas from them about what we can do with it," he said. "We haven't decided on a naming contest or maybe it can rotate around to different classrooms and places. It's a pretty cool thing and a nice addition to the school."