In our last blog, we saw Smokey from the time of origin through the 1960’s.  We saw his first board game, called Smokey; his stamps with the famous quote “Smokey’s friends don’t play with matches”; his first plush bear, and more! Let’s see what he was up to in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. 1970 – Gold Key Comic produced 13 different comics surrounding Smokey the Bear. This is the first. 1973 – A poster that was part of Smokey’s campaign to prevent forest fires. 1977 – This bank was made by R. Dakin & Co in Korea. The plastic bank has a movable head and right arm with a removable plus in its base. 1980 – Chevrolet Blazer …

Only YOU can prevent wildfires! Heard that one before? If so, it is probably because it is the longest running service campaign in U.S. history. Our beloved Smokey the Bear has been out there teaching us how to prevent wildfires since the 1940’s. Let’s take a look at his journey. 1940 – Federal and State Forest Service Stamps 1943 – Bookmark from Pre-Smokey Bear Forest Fire Campaign Directly tied to the World War II effort. 1948 – US and State Forest Stamp 1950 – Forest Fire: A True Story of our Forests by Smokey The Forest Fire Preventing Bear 1952 – Smokey the Bear on the cover of Newsweek 1959 – This is a very rare Spanish version of the …