As a teenager in the '60's riding the big yellow bus from Pontiac to the Copper Country, I remember seeing Smokey the Bear all along the way, beginning at about Grayling or Gaylord, and continuing up to the Calumet DNR office. By the way, the old DNR building on the north side of Calumet has been recently purchased by the VFW, and they are putting a lot of work into refurbishing the property.

I wonder how long those familiar dark brown DNR signs have been around in the U.P.? For that matter, how old is Smokey?

I don't know about the DNR signs; they have been the standard for at least as long as I can remember (about 25 years now). As for Smokey, he first appeared on USFS posters in 1945.

How I miss seeing fire danger signs with "LOW" on them!

Does anyone remember Smokey's song:

Smokey the bear, Smokey the bear,
Howling and a growling and a sniffing the air,
He can spot a fire before it starts to burn,
???????
He's the fire prevention bear.

Something like that.

He can start a fire before it starts to flame
That's why they call him Smokey
And that's how he got his name.

I've never met anyone who remembered Smokey's song. Folks look at me like I'm crazy when I sing it.

I too love the Smokey Bear fire hazard signs in the UP. They were a happy part of my childhood.

According to www.somkeybearstore.com Smokey dates back to 1945.

I remember the tv commercials... "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!"

:)

I am glad to see your LOW fire danger sign. I wish ours was low. Here in the Grand Canyon in Arizona the fire danger is extreme. They have closed most of the trails here and you can not have open campfires or even characoal grills. It is bad, we haven't had any rain this season at all yet and we hardly had any snow all winter. I don't think we even had 12 inches all winter.

Smokey the bear, Smokey the bear,
howling and a prowling and a sniffing the air.
He can spot a fire before it starts to flame,
thats why they call him smokey, thats is how he got his name!

Can't remember what I did yesterday, but I remember that little ditty!!

Charlie, it's amazing how one simple picture brings out the kid in all of us, from all over the country! This cute bear designed to help kids (and their parents) remember to practice fire safety in the forests has been a fixture for nearly 60 years -- three generations -- and always brings back happy memories. Thanks for the morning smile, as always!

The forest service posters have been around since the mid-1940s. In around 1950, there was a forest fire in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico. A bear cub who was badly burned was found clinging to a tree by fire fighters. The firemen rescued the little cub, took him to the vet, and named him Smokey after the bear on the forest service posters. Once Smokey was healed, he went to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where he stayed until his death in 1976. He is buried at Smokey Bear historical park in Capitan, New Mexico. The state animal of New Mexico is the bear, all because of Smokey.

there is another verse that has something like this in it, "people stop and pay attention when he tells them to beware, because everybody knows that he is smokey the bear". i dont know exactly where it is inserted, but i used to go to the calumet office in albion where i grew up and visit them and get maps and poster and i definetly remember that verse

I found a jpg file of the sheet music at:

http://www.smokeybearstore.com/smokey_bear's_song.htm

It isn't the clearest copy, but you can mostly read the 4 verses and the chorus.

My brother and I had a 45 rpm record of this song when we were kids. I'm sure we wore it out playing it.

Howdy,

It would be so nice to see Smokey the Bear telling us our fire danger is low. Unfortunately it is not. Please be careful when you are in the forest, do not take Smokey's low danger warning for granted and respect the forests and the Forest Service for all they do.

Another person from out west who totally envies the UP for having the Low fire danger. That is something we never see out here. We can't even get close enough to the forest to see any sign, since everything is closed so the authorities can burn it all down for us.

Back in the early 70's I worked at a country radio station in Saline, Michigan while attending U of M. I remember the stacks of PSA's (public service announcements) they had accumulated over the years, some going back as much as 2 decades. Smokey the Bear actually had a radio show featuring TV stars with fire prevention messages. Here is part of one of those messages produced by the U.S. Forest Service sometime in the 60's.

Ahem...

Smokey the Bear...Smokey the Bear
Prowlin' and a growlin'
And a sniffin' the air
He can spot a fire before it starts to flame.
That's why they call him Smokey
That is how he got his name.

Very big when I was a kid. I spent time in the woods looking for old Smokey!!!

It went more like this:

With a Ranger's hat and shovel
and a pair of dungarees,
You can find him in the forest
just a sniffin' in the breeze,
People stop and pay attention
when he tells them to beware,
'cause everybody knows
that he's the fire prevention bear.

Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear,
Prowlin' and a growlin'
and a-sniffin in the air,
He can find a fire
before it starts to flame,
That's why they call him Smokey,
that's how he got his name.

Given some time, I'm sure I could remember the rest of the words. My uncle spent 40 years with the Forest Service and taught us this song in the early 60s.

Okay, so I thought about it and started writing down words. I think I got them all...at least the way I learned them from Uncle Bob, the Forest Ranger.


With a Ranger's hat and shovel
and a pair of dungarees,
you will find him in the forest
always sniffin' at the breeze.
People stop and pay attention
when he tells 'em to beware,
'cause ev'rybody knows that
he's the Fire Prevention Bear.

Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear.
Prowlin' and a growlin' and a sniffin' the air.
He can find a fire before it starts to flame.
That's why they call him Smokey,
That was how he got his name.

You can take a tip from Smokey
that there's nothin' like a tree.
'cause they're good for kids to climb in
and they're beautiful to see,
you just have to look around you
and you'll find it's not a joke,
to see what you'd be missin'
if they all went up in smoke.

Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear.
Prowlin' and a growlin' and a sniffin' the air.
He can find a fire before it starts to flame.
That's why they call him Smokey,
That was how he got his name.

You can camp upon his doorstep
and he'll make you feel at home;
You can run and hunt and ramble
anywhere you care to roam.
He will let you take his honey
and pretend he's not so smart,
but don't you harm his trees
for he's a Ranger in his heart.

Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear.
Prowlin' and a growlin' and a sniffin' the air.
He can find a fire before it starts to flame.
That's why they call him Smokey,
That was how he got his name.

If you've ever seen the forest
when a fire is running wild,
and you love the things within it
like a mother loves her child,
then you know why Smokey tells you
when he sees you passing through,
"Remember...please be careful....
its the least that you can do."

Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear.
Prowlin' and a growlin' and a sniffin' the air.
He can find a fire before it starts to flame.
That's why they call him Smokey,
That was how he got his name.

i'm looking for the vintage sheet music but smokeybearstore.com seems down. ideas?

I need a copy of Smokey the Bear song by Gene Autry. Does anyone have a copy that I can get as a download.

I'm also looking for a download of the song, Smokey the Bear." If anyone has it, could you attach it to an email and send it my way? Thank you. Craig....... MrBoogieWoogie@AOL.com

Hi. I'm writing from Australia and just stumbled across this site by chance. I too am after the Smokey Bear song if anyone can email it I'd be extremely grateful. Fortunately we have been getting some rain here after 3years without very much at all. Not much fun when it's dry!

Natasha:
Greetings from cool, breezy lower Michigan. In regard to the Smokey Bear song, go to google.com and type in the Search: Smokey The Bear song and you will get many websites featuring Gene Autry "The Singing Cowboy" from Hollywood's 1930's and '40's ear. Gene originally sang the song. You can also hear Gene sing the song if you have speakers.