Smokey Bear

With all of the sad news of forest fires sweeping the southeast due to the drought, a familiar face has appeared to remind people to be careful and not accidentally or purposely set fires. We just returned from Cleveland, Georgia, and there was a total burn ban on and reminder signs were everywhere.

Many people think his name is Smokey THE bear, but that is due to a song released in the 1950s that needed to add the THE in there to keep the right rhythm. Smokey first appeared on a poster in 1944, promoting the prevention of forest fires. He followed after the Walt Disney Bambi characters that appeared in 1943 and that poster was preceded by a poster depicting Second World War tyrants Adolf Hitler and Hirohito.

Smokey’s popularity really grew when he took the form of a real bear. 1n 1950, a lone bear cub was seen wandering in the forest near a huge fire in New Mexico. Fire crews from several states came to fight the fire. They hoped that the mother bear would come back for the baby, but the firefighters got pinned down and miraculously survived by lying face down in a rockslide for over an hour. Unfortunately, the little bear was found clinging to a burned tree, his paws and legs had been burned and he needed help and fast in order to survive.

A rancher who had been helping fight the fire took him home to treat his wounds and a forest ranger arranged for the little cub to be flown to Santa Fe to be treated and recovered. News spread across the state and nation about the little survivor. Soon the baby bear recovered and it was decided he would go to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., to promote conservation and wildfire prevention. It was during this time that the song was created about Smokey and that is when people started calling him Smokey the Bear.

Smokey lived a long happy life until 1976. He received hundreds of fan mail letters every year. In fact, he got so much fan mail that he got his own zip code. Early Forest Service posters are very collectible and bring good prices at auction. Some are more valuable than others. Remember, only you can prevent forest fires and happy collecting!

Jillinda Falen has been buying and selling antiques for more than 31 years and is a licensed realtor and estate liquidation specialist. You can contact her through the Houston Home Journal or via email at jcfalen@gmail.com.

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