Smokey, Woodsy poster contest begins
(Courtesy drawing) The above poster, drawn by fourth grade student Penny Atkinson was selected as the 2019 national winner in the Smokey Woodsy Poster contest. West Bonner County School District students are invited to take part in this year’s contest, which deadlines Nov. 12.
(Photo courtesy SUSAN PECKHAM) Last year’s first-place winner for Idaho, Eliana Shukle, poses with Smokey Bear at her school, House of the Lord Christian Academy in Oldtown.
West Bonner County School District students are invited to take part in this year’s Smokey Woodsy poster contest. The deadline to submit your artwork is Nov. 12, 2019.
The annual poster contest sponsored by the National Garden Clubs is underway with local coordination and cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and the Idaho Department of Lands at Priest Lake.
Home school students, and any students in first through fifth grades, are invited to participate in the contest.
Many Priest Lake, Priest River, Idaho Hill, and House of the Lord Christian Academy elementary students participate in their classrooms.
Contest coordinator Pam Aunan said she wants all first through fifth graders to know they are welcome to enter the annual poster contest.
According to the contest rules, the poster must feature Smokey or Woodsy, not both. If Smokey, the wildfire prevention message: “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires!” must appear; and, if Woodsy, his message: “Lend a Hand, Care for the Land!” must appear.
Entries must be on 11-inch by 17-inch sheet of paper and the student artist can use crayons, markers, watercolors or poster paints. Spelling must be correct.
For more information or to submit an entry, please contact, Smokey Bear Woodsy Owl Contest, Idaho Department of Lands 208-443-2516.
According to his website, Smokey has been working hard since 1944 to inspire Americans to prevent wildfires.
The inspiration for Smokey comes from a 1950 fire in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico. While battling the fire, crews received a report of a lone bear cut wandering near the fire line, according to smokeybear.com. Crews hoped the mother bear would return for him. Soon, however, about 30 of the firefighters were caught directly in the path of a firestorm and survived by lying face down on a rockslide for over an hour as the fire burned past them.
The little cub didn’t fare so well. He had taken refuge in a tree that was completely charred by the fire. He escaped with his life, but his paws and hind legs were badly burned.
The crew got the cub, who would later be named Smokey, down from the tree and a crew member agreed to take him home.
A New Mexico Department of Game and Fish ranger heard about the cub when he returned to the fire camp. The ranger then drove to the rancher’s home to help get the cub on a plane to Santa Fe, where his burns were treated and bandaged.
News about the bear, spread and soon letters flooded the agency — all wanted to know how he was doing.
The state game warden wrote of the U.S. Forest Service chief, offering to present the cub that agency as long as he would be dedicated to a conservation and wildfire prevention publicity program.
“The cub was soon on his way to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., becoming the living symbol of Smokey Bear,” the website notes.
According to Wikipedia, Woodsey Owl got his start in 1970 as part of a United States Forest Service campaign to raise awareness of protecting the environment.
His first slogan, “Give a hoot, don’t pollute,” was officially introduced on Sept. 15, 1971 by then-Secretary of Agriculture Clifford Hardin.