The Davey Tree Expert Company
P.O. Box 5193
Kent, Ohio 44240-5193
DAVEY AROUND THE WORLD
Amy Nichols (left), daughter Reagan (middle), and daughter
Holly (right.) Photo credit goes to Amy's husband, Bob.
Amy Nichols, area manager, Davey Resource
Group, and her family visited Smokey Bear's
gravesite during a road trip through New Mexico.
Nichols worked for the U.S. Forest Service before
coming to Davey and learned about the history of
Smokey Bear. Because of her time at the Forest
Service, she has long wanted to visit the resting place
of the real Smokey Bear in Capitan, New Mexico.
"With all of the wildfire news in California, where
I live, Smokey Bear's mission of preventing forest
fires gets a lot of airtime," she said. "We went several
miles out of our way to visit Smokey's grave."
The story behind Smokey Bear is that he was rescued
as a cub from a wildfire in Lincoln National Forest in
New Mexico in 1950. He was badly burned. After his
recovery, Smokey Bear spent his life at the National
Zoo in Washington, D.C. He was named after the
Smokey Bear mascot created by the National Forest
Service to educate the public about wildfires and
how to prevent them. The real-life Smokey Bear
became the living mascot of fire prevention and
drew millions of visitors to the National Zoo.
In 1976, Smokey died at the age of 26. His remains
were taken back to Capitan and he was buried in
what is now Smokey Bear Historic Park.
Thank you for taking the Bulletin along on
your family road trip, Amy!
VISIT TO SMOKEY BEAR'S GRAVE
