FYS The Fifties

The fictional cartoon character of Smokey Bear, sometimes called Smokey the Bear, is well known across the country. But where did this face come from? Why is he so recognizable among both adults and children? What was he created to do?

Smokey the Bear was actually a creation of the 1940s, but it was in the 1950s when he became an important national figure. In the 40s, he was thought up by the United States Forest Service to help spread awareness about the many dangers of forest fires. His public service announcements helped the people of America understand that forest fires were not only a threat to many lives, but a threat to natural resources. Smokey also spread the message that even though wildfires were going to happen sometimes, many if not most of them can be prevented. Smokey the Bear pushed people to respect nature for the good of the country.

Before the massive spread of television, all of the United States Forest Service’s educational propaganda and PSA’s were spread on print. Smokey the Bear’s face was printed in magazine, newspapers, flyers, and other forms of print media. In the 1950s, when televisions started to pop up in many houses across the country, Smokey’s public service announcements really began to take off. He started to appear in the homes of millions of people everyday, not in real life of course, but in the form of broadcasted advertisements. For the first time the people of the United States were able to completely create and understand the character of Smokey the Bear, who spread a thoughtful, caring message. Smokey’s message really hit it big with the children of the 1950s, who warmly welcomed these new television cartoon characters into their life.

As Smokey grew into a bigger and bigger “celebrity”, he was adopted by many different commercial groups. Companies started to manufacture many different products that were centered around this character, including: Smokey the Bear dolls, glass figures, posters, signs, lunchboxes, and bobblehead figures. One set of Smokey toys included a card in the packaging, which children would mail in and register to become a “Junior Forest Ranger”. In 1955, the first childrens books about Smokey was published.

All the consumer products that were produced on behalf of Smokey the Bear helped lead to a more educated public. Letting children register to become a “Junior Forest Ranger” gave them the sense that they were helping. Families all across America in the 1950s embraced Smokey and the message he portrayed.

To add to his image that was created in cartoon form, America seemed to adopt a rescued wild black bear. This bear which was rescued from a forest fire (ironically one that was caused by humans none the less) was cared for by professionals in the New Mexico area at first and then later moved to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. He was then given the name “Smokey” to match the character that most of America could identify.

Smokey the Bear was an extremely important part of American popular culture in the 1950s. His name became a common household name, and even today most of America could probably recognize him.

— Mike F.