Birthday Boy

I'm a couple days late with birthday wishes for someone all of us knows... Smokey. According to the USDA Forest Service... "Since his birthday on August 9, 1944, Smokey Bear has been a recognized symbol of conservation and protection of America's forests."

Sounds pretty simple, but the story gets better when, as the late Paul Harvey could have said, "Now you know the rest of the story".

Forest fire prevention really got started during WWII. There was concern the Japanese would start forest fires so fire prevention quickly became a national concern. The movie Bambi came out in 1944 with the forest fire scene, and the first fire prevention poster with our buddy Smokey showed up August 9, 1944.

The actual bear named Smokey has his own history that is interesting and heartwarming and I recommend you read by clicking here---> Smokey The Bear's True Story

Remember... Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires