Sunday morning between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. a thief with a chain saw made several cuts with the saw to remove the six feet tall image of Smokey Bear, weighing between 35 and 40 pounds, from a fire prevention sign in Vernon, Wisconsin.
And speaking of Smokey, here’s a throwback image of President Dwight D. Eisenhower holding a Smokey doll. It appears that Smokey is wearing a shirt — usually he is naked from the waist up. Either that or he has a badge pinned directly to his chest.
The U.S. Forest Service had quite a few representatives in the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Years Day.
Their entry was a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the historic role of packers in supporting wildland firefighters and other backcountry operations, and appreciation of the outstanding contributions made by national forest volunteers.
The all-mule equestrian entry included an entourage of Forest Service Rangers in period uniforms anchored by three mule pack strings. The mule pack strings were guided by California-based U.S. Forest Service packers Michael Morse, Lee Roeser and Ken Graves, who have an average of 37 years of experience each in the saddle.
USFS firefighters hiked the five-mile parade route.Smokey Bear, USFS Chief Thomas Tidwell, and Regional Forester Randy Moore were photographed riding on a wagon in the parade.Shawna Legarza, the Director of Fire and Aviation for the U.S. Forest Service’s California Region, and Tom Harbour, the Director of Fire and Aviation for the Forest Service, at the Rose Parade, January 1, 2015.
This is something you don’t see every day — wildland fire personnel dressed up in their super-formal uniforms. (These folks are very high ranking of course, but seeing ANY non-headquarters-based U.S. Forest Service employee in a uniform is unusual.) I didn’t know the USFS had the Smokey Bear type hats except for the honor guards you see at funerals. The roses on the hats are a nice touch.
I did not see the parade, but there is a report that during the live broadcast the announcers had a debate about Smokey’s name — “Smokey Bear”, or “Smokey THE Bear”. Here’s the deal. A song written in 1952 celebrated “Smokey the Bear” and stirred a debate that lasted several decades. To maintain the proper rhythm in the song, the writers added “the” to the name, etching “Smokey the Bear” into the public psyche. But his name always was, and still is, Smokey Bear. Unfortunately the Forest Service fueled the confusion by publishing and distributing the words and music to the song in their fire prevention efforts.
All photos are provided by the U.S. Forest Service.
Smokey Bear, in front of Bend (Oregon) Fire and Rescue Station 301. Photo by Steve Stenkamp.
When Smokey Bear is knee deep in snow and his hat has taken on a new shape, it could be a sign that the end of the wildland fire season is near. Or, is this a false alarm?
Thanks and a tip of the Smokey Bear hat go out to Steve Stenkamp.
The largest statue of Smokey Bear is in Smokey Bear Park in International Falls, Minnesota. The 26-foot replica was erected in 1953 as a project of Koochiching County’s Keep Minnesota Green Committee.
Seasonally, you can see him decked out with gigantic accessories constructed by Loni Bright of Top That by Loni.
Crystal Fajt used the template we posted to make this very cool Smokey Bear Jack O’Lantern. Great job, Crystal! And, it’s a good picture, too. It’s difficult to photograph a dimly lit object in the dark.
Ike Photo via U.S. Forest Service.
