WASHINGTON TWP., Pa. — When watercolor artist Gary Embich began painting Smokey Bear, it was the details that counted most — he had to be lifelike, friendly and approachable.
“The whole key is that he was not frightening looking,” said Embich. “ … The idea is to get the youngest people aware of how valuable our forests and our natural possessions are within our country.
“That's the goal — to get the young people started, so that as they get older, they will respect their environment and their surroundings.”
Just a few weeks after Smokey’s 80th birthday, Embich is showing his paintings at Lehigh Gap Nature Center, 8844 Paint Mill Road. The free exhibit, “America’s Beautiful,” which runs from Wednesday, Aug. 21, to Aug. 29, includes 50 watercolor paintings of Smokey — one for each state in the U.S. — all created in his Saylorsburg, Monroe County, studio, Sun Oak Arts.
An official licensee of the U.S. Forest Service with a background in illustration, Embich and his wife, Nancy, a wildlife photographer, worked together to create the series. They traveled the country by car, taking tips when they could to collect pictures and notes.
“We love to see all the different parts of the United States because of how they're all uniquely positioned,” Embich said. “We have noticed that when you cross borders in the United States, it's almost like the landscape changes.
“In an automobile, you can almost see the change of the land.”
The story of Smokey
Smokey Bear is one of the country’s — and maybe even the world’s — most identifiable characters, as he is the center of the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history.
Created in 1944, Smokey’s 80th birthday was celebrated Aug. 9. The black bear, often depicted standing wearing blue jeans and a ranger hat, sometimes with a shovel in hand, is known for his catchphrase, which begins “Only you.”
However, the catalyst for Smokey’s creation stretches a little farther back in history.
“In 1937, President Roosevelt kicked off a national campaign to reduce the number of fires caused by people,” according to the Fire Service’s website. “With approximately 40 million acres lost to fire each year across the nation, this campaign featured Uncle Sam as a forest ranger.
“The message spoke to [the] human element of fire, emphasizing people’s responsibility in protecting the forest. The message, “Your Forests — Your Fault — Your Loss,” was a powerful message for the public.”
Then, during World War II, with so many men deployed, there was a lack of help to deal with forest fires. So, officials turned to a proactive approach.
“Protection of forests became a matter of national importance, and a new idea was born,” according to the campaign’s website. “If people could be urged to be more careful, perhaps some of the fires could be prevented.”
In 1942, Disney allowed the Forest Service to use characters from “Bambi” to promote fire prevention efforts, but only for one year. Officials had to quickly come up with a new mascot.
Albert Staehle created the first Smokey painting, which shows the bear pouring a bucket of water over a fire. Since then, other artists have painted him, including Rudolph “Rudy” Wendelin.
In 1950, a fire crew in New Mexico saved “a very scared and burned bear cub that had been clinging fearfully and tenaciously to a burned tree. They dubbed the tiny cub ‘Hot Foot Teddy,’” according to the Fire Service.
“Hot Foot Teddy was adopted by the U.S. Forest Service and became the living symbol of the world-famous Smokey Bear,” according to the service’s website. “His home was moved from New Mexico to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and was finally brought home to rest in Capitan, N.M., in 1976 after his passing.”
Over time, Smokey has retained his bear-like features, but has also picked up more human attributes — walking on two feet, answering fan mail, driving cars and more.
Some might remember Smokey differently — thinking his name is “Smokey the Bear” or confusing his tagline.
“Smokey’s original catchphrase was ‘Smokey Says — Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires,’” according to the campaign. “In 1947, it became ‘Remember ... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires.’
“In 2001, it was again updated to its current version of ‘Only You Can Prevent Wildfires’ in response to a massive outbreak of wildfires in natural areas other than forests and to clarify that Smokey is promoting the prevention of unwanted and unplanned outdoor fires versus prescribed fires.”
The name mix-up comes from a 1952 song by Eddy Arnold — he added the “the” to Smokey’s name for the purpose of melody, and the name stuck.
“Despite the success of Smokey Bear’s campaign over the years, wildfire prevention remains one of the most critical issues affecting our country’s forests and grasslands,” according to the Forest Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “With over 80% of wildfires being started accidentally or by careless or bad behavior, Smokey's message is as relevant and urgent today as it was in 1944.”
During Smokey’s first year, the commonwealth alone saw 68,000 acres of wildfires, according to the Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation. Since 2000, the median acreage burned annually by wildfires is just over 3,000 acres.
‘A great idea’
Embich never met his grandfather, an artist and sign painter from Lebanon County who died when he was just 3 years old.
“My father would tell me about him, and I always liked art — I was always a creative person,” he said. “And so I decided in my high school years that I think I'd like to pursue art, even though I never took an art class in high school.”
At the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Embich was trained in illustration and graphics. After graduating in 1968, he took a job at Dixie in the Easton area.
“And then I was drafted,” he said. “During the Vietnam War, that is what happened to people and I was drafted and ended up in the service. Then, I returned to my job in Easton and I continued there for 35 years.”
After retiring in 2004, Embich opened his studio in Saylorsburg to paint and teach.
The Smokey Bear series was his wife’s idea. He and Nancy had bought a wooden Smokey silhouette at an Ohio collectibles store “in the early days,” Embich said. They started to bring the silhouette with them on their travels, taking pictures along the way.
"We began to paint — one state at a time.”Gary Embich
Then, while at a convention focused on Hot Foot Teddy in Las Vegas, Nancy came up with the idea for a series of paintings featuring Smokey.
“I said, ‘That's a great idea,’” Embich recalled. “We had to position ourselves to the federal government, the U.S. Forest Service, as to what our concept was, what our plan was and what we were going to do with it.
“We put that into action, and then we began to paint — one state at a time.”
Embich in 2006 completed his first Smokey paintings for the series — Delaware and West Virginia. Alaska, the last painting in the series, was finished in 2021. It was one of only three states he and Nancy didn’t physically visit for the series.
“They were not done in alphabetical order,” he said. “They were done in ‘what states could we hit on a trip’ kind of method.”
He based his Smokey off Wendelin’s rendition, Embich said, “probably the most popular bear over the years.”
“The one done by Rudolph Wendelin was an approachable bear,” he said. “He was friendly looking, not an angry face, not scary.
“He was cartoon-ized because that really helped them be able to make the costumes. But then, he was put in a position where kids could identify with him.”
Embich in 2022 published his book of paintings, “America’s Beautiful … Let’s Keep it that Way."
The book’s dedication is similar to Smokey’s goal, if in a different medium: To promote the preservation of our country by reminding people that we can do our part in keeping America Beautiful by preventing wildfires that can destroy the beautiful things that each of our states has to offer.
