By Bill Pumford, Image from Bill Pumford Collection

TITLE: SMOKEY BEAR BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION:

Smokey has had a productive life. In the early 1940s there was concern that World War II might bring incendiary devices to the United States to burn our forests and cities. The National Forest Service started a campaign to warn the public about fires in the forests. Numerous posters were developed with Smokey as a spokesperson to help keep the warnings on wildfire prevention fresh and constantly in people’s minds. The earliest catchphrase was ‘Smokey Says – Care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires.’ By 1947 the catchphrase we are most familiar with, ‘Remember – Only YOU can prevent Forest fires,’ was adopted. The phrase was modified slightly in 2001 to be ‘Only you can prevent wildfires.’ During the late 1940s and early 1950s celebrities such as Bob Hope, Jack Benny, and Bing Crosby participated in the campaigns to teach people about wildfires. Sometimes Smokey is referred to as “Smokey the Bear” but that is incorrect, and the correct name is simply ‘Smokey Bear.’ In Capitan, New Mexico you can find the Smokey Bear Museum. It is in this area where the now familiar story of the original Smokey cub begins. Rescued from a forest fire in the Lincoln National Forest in 1950 a badly singed bear cub was brought back to health. A companion female bear named Goldie was paired with Smokey, but no cubs were conceived. The original black bear cub named Smokey died in 1976 and is buried in Capitan.