MILEPOSTS #1039

By Ken Brafman, Image from Piper Flyer Association

TITLE: HAPPY 77TH BIRTHDAY SMOKEY BEAR!: After missing a year, on Sunday, August 8 from noon to 3 p.m. a V.I.B. (Very Important Bear) will be returning to our Mountain History Museum for his annual visit. As always Smokey will be posing for selfies and delighting kids of all ages. There will be birthday cake and ice cream, refreshments, and lots of special handouts. This week’s image shows the real Smokey as a cub. He is exploring a Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser which Fish and Game kept on hand for firefighting operations. This plane was used to fight a forest fire in 1950 that had destroyed 17,000 acres of the Lincoln National Forest. During mop-up operations firefighters spotted an abandoned and badly injured bear cub clinging to a tree. Nicknamed ‘Hot Foot Teddy’ the cub was brought back to camp where Game Warden Raymond Bell took charge of his care. Bell soon realized that the cub would not survive without urgent veterinary attention. Dr. Edwin F. Smith was expert in treating wild animals but lived 180 miles away. So the newly named ‘Smokey’ was placed in a box and took off on his first plane ride – on this Piper PA-12. The story of Smokey caught the attention of the entire nation. News about this real bear named Smokey spread far and wide, and when he recovered he was given a spacious new home at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Did you know that besides Smokey only the president has his own zip code? You can address mail simply ‘Smokey Bear 20252.’ Smokey Bear has played a huge role in spreading messages of wildfire prevention and forest conservation. And at our Smokey Bear Birthday Celebration you’ll also learn that he’s good to cuddle.

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