Off the Wall: The True Story of Smokey Bear
Smokey Bear: The Orphan Cub, Wartime Mascot, and Federal Fire Safety Icon Who Told Us Not to Burn Everything Down
Smokey Bear: The Orphan Cub, Wartime Mascot, and Federal Fire Safety Icon Who Told Us Not to Burn Everything Down
(Hey, It’s Independence Day. Hard to find anything more ‘Murican than Smokey Bear! - DD)
(Commonplace Fun Facts) - Let us begin with a small but important correction before the grammar patrol shows up wearing park ranger hats: his name is Smokey Bear, not Smokey the Bear.
Yes, we know. You have probably called him Smokey the Bear your entire life. So have millions of other Americans. The confusion mostly comes from the popular 1952 song, “Smokey the Bear,” which added the extra word because it made the lyrics flow better. That is how one little syllable wandered into American culture and refused to leave, like a raccoon in a campground dumpster.
Officially, however, he is Smokey Bear. No “the.” Just Smokey Bear. Strong. Direct. Efficient. Exactly what you want from a bear who carries a shovel and looks like he is judging your camping routine.
Smokey Bear is one of the most recognizable public service mascots in American history. He has appeared on posters, television, radio, billboards, lunchboxes, comic books, school materials, stamps, and multiple elementary school assemblies where a sweating forest ranger tried to explain wildfire prevention to a room full of children who really just wanted to see a talking bear.
But Smokey’s story is much more interesting than “cartoon animal tells people to put out campfires.” His origins are tangled up with World War II, wartime propaganda, Japanese submarine attacks…
