Smokey Bear Born (1944)

Perhaps “born” isn’t quite the correct verb.  Smokey “was conceived” on August 9, 1944, when the first poster bearing his imaged was commissioned.  Since then, Smokey Bear has become one of America’s best known and best loved images, filling out the trio of Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus.

Smokey was, from the beginning, a patriotic bear.  The impetus for Smokey came from worries during World War II.  After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Japanese submarines and other vessels appeared along the country’s Pacific Coast and once successfully fired shells into a coastal oil field, starting a fire adjacent to a national forest.  Forestry officials worried that enemy shelling of coastal forests could cause devastating fires.  And with most fire-fighters and other men away on war duty, those fires might readily spread out of control.

In an effort to raise the awareness of forest fires as a national-defense issue, The US Forest Service, Association of State Foresters and the War Advertising Council formed the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention program.  The program began promoting forests as essential to winning the war—and preventing forest fires as a patriotic duty.  Slogans included “Forest Fires Aid the Enemy” and “Our Carelessness, Their Secret Weapon.”

They soon hit on another idea that proved to be a winner.  Walt Disney aired the film “Bambi” in 1942, including the blazing forest fire scene that scared us all as kids.  Disney allowed the program to use Bambi’s image on a fire-prevention poster for one year.  It proved so popular that the program knew it needed a permanent mascot for their cause.  On August 9, 1944, the program agreed that a bear should be their symbol.

The original Smokey Bear poster, drawn by Albert Staehle, 1944.

They commissioned artist Albert Staehle to draw the poster.  Staehle, who lived from 1899 to 1974, was one of the best known advertising artists during the first half of the 20th Century.  He was especially renowned for his animal subjects, including Elsie the Cow, Borden Dairy’s famous spokes-animal (remember the contented cows?).  Staehle’s initial rendition of Smokey appeared on October 10, pouring a bucket of water on a campfire.  The poster read, “Smokey says—Care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires!”

A star was born!  Smokey’s image became so popular that the federal government had to pass a law that removed Smokey from the public domain and trademarked it for commercial purposes (royalties that still come in are used for wildfire prevention).  Over the years, Smokey’s look evolved, from a bear cub to a realistic adult bear, complete with fearsome fangs and claws.  US Forest Service artist Rudy Wendelin took over Smokey’s image, eventually molding him into the human-like character we know today, complete with human hands and dressed in jeans and hat. Being Smokey’s “caretaker” became Wendelin’s full-time job for the remainder of his career with the Forest Service and on into retirement.

The message evolved, too.  In 1947, his slogan became, “Only you can prevent forest fires.  In 2001, his slogan changed again, to “Only you can prevent wildfires.”  The change emphasizes the danger of wild fires to human life and buildings.

A living “Smokey Bear” lived at the National Zoo from the early 1950s through 1976 (photo by Francine Schroeder for the Smithsonian Institution)

It was inevitable, I suppose, that the imaginary Smokey would turn real one day.  During a forest fire in New Mexico in 1950, fire fighters rescued a small black bear cub from the fire.  The bear’s paws and rear legs were burned, but it recovered under care by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.  The story of the rescued cub “went viral.”  Soon, Smokey was transferred to the National Zoo in Washington, where the bear lived until its death in 1976.  Smokey is buried at the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico.  No living specimen replaced the original.

But Smokey’s legacy certainly lives on.  He is still so popular that he has his own zip code (20252), along with his own Facebook (300,000 friends), Twitter (24,000 followers), Instagram, YouTube and Flickr accounts.

Smokey Bear remains one of America’s great–and most popular–symbols (photo by Virginia State Parks Staff)

One final point.  There’s an old joke, “What is Smokey the Bear’s middle name?”  The corny answer is “the.”  Except it isn’t.  Smokey doesn’t have a middle name.  He is simply Smokey Bear, always has been and always will be.  However, a song about him, written in 1952, stuck  “the” in his name so the lyrics would match the song’s rhythm.  Remember that for your next trivia contest.

References:

American Art Archives.  Albert Staehle (1899-1974).  Available at:  https://www.americanartarchives.com/staehle.htm.  Accessed June 11, 2018.

CBS News.  2014.  Smokey Bear turns 70, and he’s burning up social media.  CBS News, August 8, 2014.  Available at:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/smokey-bear-turns-70-and-hes-burning-up-social-media/.  Accessed June 11, 2018.

Pearson, Richard.  2000.  Rudolph Wendelin Dies at Age 90.  The Washington Post, September 3, 2000.  Available at:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/09/03/rudolph-wendelin-dies-at-age-90/676783da-263d-41e4-a920-9782c69b4337/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.16b43e68c384.  Accessed June 11, 2018.

Smokeybear.com.  About the Campaign.  Available at:  https://smokeybear.com/en/smokeys-history/about-the-campaign.  Accessed June 11, 2018.

This Month in Conservation

February 1
Afobaka Dam and Operation Gwamba (1964)
February 2
Groundhog Day
February 3
Spencer Fullerton Baird, First U.S. Fish Commissioner, Born (1823)
February 3
George Adamson, African Lion Rehabilitator, Born (1906)
February 4
Congress Overrides President Reagan’s Veto of Clean Water Act (1987)
February 5
National Wildlife Federation Created (1936)
February 6
Colin Murdoch, Inventor of the Tranquilizer Gun, Born (1929)
February 7
Karl August Mobius, Ecology Pioneer, Born (1825)
February 8
President Johnson Addresses Congress about Conservation (1965)
February 8
Lisa Perez Jackson, Environmental Leader, Born (1982)
February 9
U.S. Fish Commission Created (1871)
February 10
Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet, born (1944)
February 11
International Day of Women and Girls in Science
February 12
Judge Boldt Affirms Native American Fishing Rights (1974)
February 13
Thomas Malthus Born (1766)
February 14
Nature’s Faithful Lovers
February 15
Complete Human Genome Published (2001)
February 16
Kyoto Protocol, Controlling Greenhouse-Gas Emissions, Begins (2005)
February 16
Alvaro Ugalde, Father of Costa Rica’s National Parks, Born (1946)
February 17
Sombath Somphone, Laotian Environmentalist, Born (1952)
February 17
R. A. Fischer, Statistician, Born (1890)
February 18
World Pangolin Day
February 18
Julia Butterfly Hill, Tree-Sitter, Born (1974)
February 19
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Established (1962)
February 20
Ansel Adams, Nature Photographer, Born (1902)
February 21
Carolina Parakeet Goes Extinct (1918)
February 22
Nile Day
February 23
Italy’s Largest Inland Oil Spill (2010)
February 24
Joseph Banks, British Botanist, Born (1743)
February 25
First Federal Timber Act Passed (1799)
February 26
Four National Parks Established (1917-1929)
February 27
International Polar Bear Day
February 28
Watson and Crick Discover The Double Helix (1953)
February 29
Nature’s Famous Leapers
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