In the autumn of 1944, one of America’s most enduring symbols was born. Smokey Bear, the anthropomorphic black bear, celebrated his 80th birthday on August 9th.
As the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history, Smokey has introduced generations of citizens to the importance of responsible outdoor recreation and other activities. His original mission of educating about the dangers of forest fires has evolved over the years, with growing recognition of the importance of prescribed fires, and is now reflected in his iconic slogan “only you can prevent wildfires.”
Smokey was born during WWII and his origin story reflects the unique challenges facing the country at that time. Hundreds of thousands of the most able-bodied Americans were deployed overseas, leaving many communities without robust firefighting crews. It became apparent that a major forest fire could quickly overwhelm limited human resources. A Japanese artillery attack outside of Santa Barbara, near the Los Padres National Forest, amplified those fears. As a way to encourage everyday Americans to be vigilant protectors of the forests in their communities or those they visited, the Forest Service created the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention program in collaboration with the War Advertising Council. The first ads circulated included slogans like “Forest Fires Aid the Enemy” and “Our Carelessness, Their Secret Weapon.”
After a brief and successful campaign that used the Disney character Bambi to share a message of fire prevention, the CFFP program developed Smokey Bear. The first poster with the new spokesbear featured Smokey in his now-famous blue jeans and ranger hat, pouring a bucket of water on a campfire. The slogan, “care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires” was soon replaced with the more recognizable “only you can prevent forest fires.” The imagery of Uncle Sam posters was also incorporated. Smokey spread his message of prevention and responsibility widely, both in print but also on the radio and even through merchandise. In fact the symbol became so popular that in 1952, Congress acted to remove Smokey Bear from the public domain and placed it under the licensing control of the US Secretary of Agriculture. The sales of licensed merchandise funded fire prevention education.
This brings us to a point of connection between this internationally famous bear and our little community of Moscow. From the mid-1980s until 2023, Moscow was home to the largest retailer of licensed Smokey Bear merchandise in the country. Woodland Catalog, operated by the Fazio family first from their home and then from a storefront on North Main Street, offered hundreds of products bearing the bear’s likeness. Jim Fazio was a professor of wildland recreation management at U of I and had a relationship with Smokey because of work helping Forest Service personnel prepare for public relations assignments. He and his wife Dawna served as faithful stewards of the Smokey Bear brand for decades, and now their daughter continues that work from the business’s new location in Washington.
In honor of Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday, the University of Idaho Library is looking forward to hosting a traveling exhibit of paintings by the icon’s long-time “manager” Rudy Wendelin. Nineteen of Wendelin’s paintings will be on display on the Library’s second floor from September 23rd until October 5th. Visitors can enjoy the display during the building’s normal hours, which can be found at lib.uidaho.edu. To learn more about the history of Smokey Bear, visit SmokeyBear.com.