Educators, Librarians & Youth Leaders Resources
SMOKEY BEAR- 60 YEARS OF VIGILANCE
Since his inception in 1944 Smokey Bear celebrates 60 years of delivering his fire prevention message with both youth and adults. Smokey Bear first appeared in a poster in 1944, pouring a bucket of water on a campfire. He soon became so popular that he appeared on other posters and cards.
In 1952 Congress passed the Smokey Bear Act taking him out of the public domain and placing him under the control of the Secretary of Agriculture. The act provided for the use of collected royalties to help fund forest fire prevention and to protect Smokey from exploitation. During the 50's and 60's Smokey was featured with public figures like Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore and Roy Rodgers.
In 1973 Captain Kangaroo gives a historical sequence of Smokey during fire prevention week. Smokey Bear Commemorative Stamp issued in 1984 by the U.S. Postal Service. In 1994 to celebrate his 50th birthday Smokey appears at Disney World and the Indianapolis 500.
Even now, we still have a lot of work to do. Each new generation must be reminded of their role in Wildfire Prevention. We appreciate your help in celebrating Smokey's 60th birthday with a birthday card contest and a birthday party at your library. Here are some tools to get you started:
Smokey Birthday Banner:
This Smokey banner will print using eight sheets of 8.5 x 11 inch paper. When printing from Adobe Acrobat, make sure to set Page Scaling to "Fit to Paper" in the print dialog box. Tape the sheets together, and there you have it- Happy Birthday Smokey!!
Download Smokey Banner
More of Smokey's 60th Items
Smokey 60th Birthday Poster- A poster with the same design as the postcard is for display in businesses and other areas where people gather in your community. Also use the posters to advertise local 60th birthday events by placing an event description on the bottom of the poster.
Fireworks Coloring Page- Copy this one page coloring sheet and give it to local fireworks vendors for distribution or use it for coloring contests at local businesses. Available as a PDF file for printing and copying locally.
Pin the Hat on Smokey Game- Print on a plotter a nearly life-sized Smokey Bear image and post along with a paper Smokey hat for use at events. Challenge your audience to pin the hat on Smokey while blindfolded. A nice "Smokey Birthday Party" game. Images are available in PDF format for printing locally.
Billboard- A Smokey Bear 60th birthday design electronic file is available for you to pursue posting in your area.
Birthday Cake Image- Electronic image to take to a local bakery to design a Smokey birthday cake for local celebrations.
Trivia Questions- Test your knowledge on Smokey Bear and fire prevention.
Smokey Bear Comic Book- Read the 'True Story of Smokey Bear' comic book.
Smokey's Birthday Party radio public service announcement.
Visit www.smokeybear.com for more information on Smokey Bear and wildfire prevention.
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