During the years of WWII, forest fires were a major domestic concern, since they could take valuable resources away from the war effort. The Forestry Department decided that they needed a mascot to help spread their message and the first character they turned to was the beloved deer created by Walt Disney, Bambi. Unfortunately, Bambi only came with a one-year lease so they turned to a bear named Smokey, whose slogan “Remember, Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires” spread like … well, you get the picture. Endearing to children all across the country, it was eventually realized that Smokey Bear (NOT Smokey the Bear, contrary to popular belief) was perfect fodder for his own animated series, which he finally achieved in the late 60s cartoon, The Smokey Bear Show.

The series, produced by Christmas special icons Rankin-Bass followed the day-to-day existence of everyone’s favorite furry firefighter. Living peacefully within the forest, Smokey was befriended by an assortment of critters that included Freddie the skunk, Bennie the rabbit, Bessie the pig (forest pig?) and Gabby the mountain Lion. While much of their time together was filled with laughter and storytelling, Smokey did have remind his occasionally careless friends of the dangers of fire, which was, of course, a common theme of the show.

The show also took on an autobiographic tone occasionally to share the early years of Smokey’s existence and how he came to find his true calling. For there also happened to be a real, living Smokey the Bear, who resided in the National Zoo in Washington D.C. Rescued as a young cub by the US Forest service, he would live the rest of his life as a beloved mascot for the government agency.

Unfortunately, despite the affection shared for Smokey by millions of children, and despite the fact that he was one of the most recognizable characters of the era, Smokey faced some rather stiff competition on Saturday mornings, including Heckle and Jeckle and the domineering Warner Brothers cartoon clan of Bugs Bunny and friends. Smokey’s foray into the Saturday morning lineup only managed to last for a mere 17 episodes.

But that didn’t mean that Smokey was being sent to the unemployment line – not by a long-shot. He still had his very important public service career to fall back on and has remained on the job, reminding folks of all ages of the dangers of forest fires, to this very day.