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How Smokey Bear Became an Icon and a Real Life Neighbor in Washington DC

Both the Smokey Bear character and the real life Smokey hail from Washington, D.C.

Aired 03/03/2025

Boundary Stones

How Smokey Bear Became an Icon and a Real Life Neighbor in Washington DC

Special | 4m 9s

Both the Smokey Bear character and the real life Smokey hail from Washington, D.C.

In 1950, an orphaned bear cub was rescued from a wildfire in New Mexico and brought to Washington to live at the National Zoo. Named "Smokey" after the popular Forest Service character, the cub became a real life advocate for fire prevention and got so much fan mail that the U.S. Postal Service gave him his own private D.C. zipcode.

Aired 03/03/2025

Boundary Stones is a local public television program presented by WETA

Boundary Stones

How Smokey Bear Became an Icon and a Real Life Neighbor in Washington DC

Special | 4m 9s

In 1950, an orphaned bear cub was rescued from a wildfire in New Mexico and brought to Washington to live at the National Zoo. Named "Smokey" after the popular Forest Service character, the cub became a real life advocate for fire prevention and got so much fan mail that the U.S. Postal Service gave him his own private D.C. zipcode.

Aired 03/03/2025

How to Watch Boundary Stones

Boundary Stones is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.

Boundary Stones is a local public television program presented by WETA

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