‘Smokey the Bear’ to be outfitted with hard hat, reflective vest for paper mill’s centennial
For about a week in June, the “Smokey the Bear” statue won’t just be watching for forest fires and welcoming friends to the park that bears his name.
He’ll be protected from all sorts of hazards in a new, green hard hat complete with Boise logo in honor of the mill’s century of papermaking. And look stylish for the community celebration.
Mark Rooney, Rainy River Community College art instructor, has been commissioned to create the fiberglass hat for the centennial celebration.
This is, physically, the largest project that Rooney has made, he said.
The project started recently with a Styrofoam core that was covered in 300 pounds of wet clay. Rooney was in the process of finishing the clay stage when The Journal visited the college art room to photograph the hat in progress.
The clay took Rooney about 10 days to sculpt. He carefully used a putty knife to smooth the clay evenly around the bulbous hat.
“It’s sunken in on that side,” he points out, and begins working to fill the flatter side of the hat.
The safety hat will then be covered in fiberglass, with the clay sculpture serving as a positive mold. The foam and clay mold will then be removed, the fiberglass will be spray painted green and a large, plastic Boise logo will be affixed.
Rooney is basing the 29-inch-tall hat off a real 5-inch-tall, green plastic safety hat, which occupies a pedestal near the gargantuan clay replica while he is working. The hat, he said, will look exactly like the human-sized model, but will be 5.8 times larger to fit the statue.
Rooney said he was lifted to the top of the 31-foot-tall bear statue to take measurements. He was then able to find the correct dimensions to outfit the often well-dressed landmark.
Smokey will wear the hat and a vest with reflective tape for the week of the community celebration, scheduled for June 25, according to Boise officials.
Bob Anderson, Boise public affairs manager, said that the centennial committee tried to think how to dress Smokey, as outfitting the bear has become a tradition in International Falls.
Smokey also wears fishing gear and warm winter garb for the changing seasons.
The Boise celebration will take place in Smokey Bear Park, where the bear and its cubs are one of the central attractions, with the paper mill in the background.
“Safety: It is our way of life,” reads one of the core principles on the company’s boiseinc.com website. So it is only fitting that Smokey be outfitted in a fashionable, yet functional hard hat for the Boise celebration, said Rooney.
