Happy 80th Birthday, Smokey!

This post was created in collaboration with Heather Sulier, Archives Specialist in the Still Picture Branch.

“Only You Can Prevent Wildfires” a wise bear once said. In 1944, Smokey Bear was introduced to the world by the U.S. Forest Service in a campaign to help prevent wildfires throughout the United States. While he is known today by his “Only You” phrase, his slogan started as “Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires.”

The efforts to spread the message of preventing wildfires began before World War II. In 1942, Walt Disney’s animated film Bambi premiered and featured adorable forest creatures and wildlife. Shortly following the premiere, Disney allowed the characters from Bambi to appear in the fire prevention campaigns; however, the agreement was only for the short term.

After the initial campaign ran its course, Harry Rossoll, a Forest Service artist, completed a rough sketch of a bear and on August 9, 1944 Smokey Bear was born. A couple of months later on October 10, artist Albert Staehle completed the first poster featuring Smokey. By 1947, Smokey’s slogan changed to “Remember…only YOU can prevent forest fires.” The only additional change to his motto would come in 2001, with changing “forest fires” to “wildfires,” in order to clarify the occasional need for controlled and planned fires.

Smokey Bear wasn’t always a cartoon, however. An American black bear cub, first nicknamed “Hotfoot Teddy”, was found after suffering burns from a wildfire in the spring of 1950 and would soon go on to be a living symbol of Smokey’s wildfire prevention campaign. Various caretakers cared for the cub until he finally made his way to the National Zoo in Washington, DC, in June 1950. Smokey would live in the zoo for 26 years, and was visited by millions of adoring fans. He received so much fan mail, that the U.S. Postal Service gave him his own ZIP code–20252–which is still in use today! The original Smokey passed away in November 1976, and his remains were buried at Smokey Bear Historical Park in New Mexico, near where he was originally found.

Even after the death of the original bear, Smokey’s legacy lives on. Here in the Special Media Division at the National Archives, we have many records that relate to one of the world’s most recognizable and popular characters. To celebrate the beloved spokesbear’s 80th birthday (and longest-running public service campaign in U.S. history), we have put together some of our favorite photographs and posters for all to enjoy.

Smokey spreading the message of forest fire prevention across the country.

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Smokey was found in 1950 in the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico, where he was found badly burned. After being nursed back to health, Smokey was transferred to the the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. in June of 1950, which would be his new permanent home.

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In 1962, Smokey was introduced to a female black bear, Goldie, who also arrived from New Mexico. While they never had a cub of their own, they did “adopt” a son, Little Smokey, in 1971. Little Smokey was another orphaned bear from New Mexico.

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Rudolph “Rudy” Wendelin, a U.S. Forest Service employee, was a full-time artist for the Smokey Bear campaign with his work spanning more than three decades for the iconic mascot.

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Can’t bear the thought of leaving without seeing more? Climb over to the National Archives Catalog to see more records for Smokey!

You can also check out other Smokey blogs previously posted on The Unwritten Record:

• Getting the Message Out: Smokey Bear PSAs, Posted November 5, 2013
• The REAL Smokey Bear, Posted October 31, 2013
• The Secret of Smokey’s Success, Posted November 14, 2013
• Smoke(y) Signals, Posted October 9, 2018

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The photographs included in this post have no known copyright restrictions. However, please note, the use and reproduction of the Smokey Bear symbol is restricted by Public Law 82-359, as amended by P.L. 93-318, Title 18 U.S.C. 711, and by 36 CFR 271. If you have any questions about the images in this post or the holdings of the Still Picture Branch, please contact us at stillpix@nara.gov.

PUBLICATION OF PHOTOGRAPHS FURNISHED BY THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES STILL PICTURE BRANCH-RRSS

Generally, copies of photographic records held by the National Archives may be published without special permission or additional fees. The National Archives does not grant exclusive or non-exclusive publication privileges. Copies of Federal records, as part of the public domain, are equally available to all. A small percentage of photographs in our holdings are or may be subject to copyright restrictions. The National Archives does not confirm the copyright status of photographs but will provide any information known about said status. It is the user’s responsibility to obtain all necessary clearances. Any use of these items is made at the researcher’s or purchaser’s own risk.

Proper credit lines are encouraged in the interest of good documentation. They also help inform the public about government photographic resources that are available.

*Because so many of our requests for information cite credits and captions that appear in published works, the inclusion of a photo number in hard copy and electronic publications is of great assistance to both us and the public.

Examples of preferred credit lines are as follows:

• National Archives photo no. 210-G-C241
• Credit National Archives (photo no. 83-G-41368)
• Courtesy National Archives, photo no. 83-G-41430
• National Archives (210-G-A14)

If using a large number of our images, the National Archives will appreciate receiving copies of publications that contain our photographs. Such copies can be sent to the Still Picture Branch or the Library, National Archives and Records Administration.