Fire Prevention Nebraska Style
Our good friend Smokey Bear has been celebrating his 80th Birthday this year. As he symbolizes the importance of preventing wildland fires, and especially the fact that Smokey’s friends don’t play with matches, he is that constant reminder of how very important fire prevention is every day of the year to protect and save lives, time and money.
For several years I have been a collector of Smokey Bear memorabilia. If you happen to visit my home you will see various Smokey Bear items including not only several stuffed bears but also puzzles, patches, pins, cookie jars, calendars, cups, clocks, lanyards, books, toys and more, in fact there are even Smokey Bear slippers! But I recently had the opportunity to really top off my admiration for Smokey with my very own statue!
For many years the Ash tree in the yard of our home has given us a nice shady back yard. But as time has gone on the tree has been deteriorating and the very long branches hanging over the house have become detrimental, so the tree must come down. But wait, I have an idea! Run it by my husband to see if we can keep about 10 feet of the tree standing and possibly get a carving done!?!?! After a little persuading (and maybe a little begging) I was pretty sure I had him on board, so I began checking into available chainsaw artists. This led me to a gentleman that had finished a firefighter carving for a friend of ours in Lincoln. I reached out to him, and he promptly replied with a sketch of what he could do to carve me my very own Smokey Bear. Oh, can this really be happening, and can I convince the hubby to move forward with this project!?!?
Well, the tree came down and the 10-foot stump was left standing. The chainsaw artist arrived on Friday and by Sunday afternoon I had my very own Smokey Bear! I love it!
Anytime you happen to be in the Schuyler, NE area I would welcome you to stop by- he would love you to have your picture taken with him so you also can enjoy his message forever to Help Prevent Wildfires!
Rhonda Cerny,
NSVFA Fire Prevention Team