Some local (DC) lore about Smokey Bear

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/24/AR2010042402441.html

I should point out that the voice of Smokey in all of those commercials was local radio legend, Jackson Weaver. There was something pretty cool about being a kid in DC and having the ability to easily go and see Smokey, (and bragging about it to your out-of-town friends). My memory may be foggy, but I believe you could get pretty darn close to him in his pen in those days, 50 years ago. (This was before the wussification of America - if there were any accidents, well, it was all for a good cause. Smokey needs his protein to fight fires...)
Along with my Grandmother and Santa Claus, I believe Smokey was the only being I ever wrote to as a small child. The volume of mail to him was great enough that when zip codes came out he was given his own individual one!
And now - Times change. Smokey and my Grandmother are long-gone, (and I'm a little worried about Santa's status); and I'd have to drive for many hours before hitting anything I'd call a forest.