From DC to NM: Smokey Bear Evokes Childhood Nostalgia

I knew him as Smokey the Bear, the National Park Service mascot who told us kids, “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires,” on Washington DC’s local radio station, WMAL. And this week I visited a place not far from my New Mexico abode, with an unexpected surprise.

An endearing and nostalgia-evoking connection to my childhood hometown of Arlington, Virginia. None other than the nearby National Zoo in DC, where I went on fieldtrips in elementary school, and where I fell headlong for Smokey, a black bear and beloved ecological mascot.

Smokey Bear, as he is apparently actually called, rose to fame as an icon for forest fire prevention, and he lived in the National Zoo for 26 years.

Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico, was established in 1976 to honor its favorite son, Smokey Bear.  Almost three decades earlier, Smokey was an orphaned bear cub with burned paws, found in the aftermath of the human-caused Capitan Gap wildfire. And when this famous bear passed away, he was laid to rest in his hometown at the park that bears his name.

Visiting Smokey’s gravesite was surprisingly emotional. I left coins along the memorial plaque, as others had done, feeling as if I were ten years old again.

This park is a wonderful celebration of Smokey’s legacy, with exhibits on subjects needing to be addressed now more than ever, including forest health, wildfires, the science of fire ecology, and a historical look at wildfire prevention.

In a small indoor theater with walls adorned with charming children’s art honoring Smokey Bear and his message, I watched a short film about how forest health and how fire impacts our lives. One especially interesting revelation was how, over time, we’ve learned that not all forest fires are bad. That controlled burns can contribute to maintaining a healthy forest, as opposed to devasting and detrimental-to-the-environment fires caused by human carelessness. Like the one that left a little bear cub orphaned and burned.

Indeed, Smokey was initially called Hotfoot Teddy after being found clinging to a charred tree by soldiers from Fort Bliss, Texas, who’d come to help fight the Capitan Gap Fire.

Outside the park along a meandering pathway is Smokey’s gravesite,  as well as exhibits on New Mexico vegetative life zones and the beauty of our state’s natural resources. Our state. How I love now residing in the state from which Smokey the Bear hailed.

Smokey Bear Historical Park has been operated by the New Mexico Forestry Division’s Capitan District since 1992, though it’s under the oversight of the US Bureau of Land Management within the Department of Interior.

The park has a gift shop and bookstore that was closed due to “lack of staffing.” Yet another casualty of the appallingly extended, maniacally deliberate Republican government shutdown as it heads into yet another month.

All the more reason for Smokey to be the mascot of a resistance movement, per the photo accompanying this blog. Can’t you just hear it? Smokey Bear intoning: Remember, kids, only you can prevent destruction of our planet through unfettered greed and lack of respect for its flora—and fauna.

In Capitan, I was at least able to purchase a pair of Smokey-themed socks at a shop across the street from the park, along with chili pepper socks as temps begin dropping in these high altitudes. At Oso Café next door, also quite nostalgic in a well-preserved historical corner building, I tried my first oh-so tasty fried green chili strips, and a root beer float that seemed straight out of my childhood.

These are horrifically disheartening times, and it’s a struggle not to succumb to despair and despondency. This week, Smokey Bear helped me out with that, uplifting my spirits on a lovely autumn day. Long may his positive, hopeful legacy live. Because no government shut down can desecrate that.

We love you, Smokey the Bear, now and forever. And we will RESIST! in your honor.