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"Ranger Bill" is a classic Christian radio program from the 1950s, produced by Moody Radio.

The show features over 200 episodes and stars Miron Canaday as Ranger Bill, a forest ranger in the fictional town of Knotty Pine, located in the Rocky Mountains. Alongside his friends Stumpy Jenkins and Grey Wolf, Ranger Bill tackles various adventures and moral dilemmas, often with a strong Christian message.

The show remains a beloved piece of old-time radio history and is still enjoyed by many fans today.

Listen to our radio station Old Time Radio https://link.radioking.com/otradio
Listen to other Shows at My Classic Radio https://www.myclassicradio.net/
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Remember that times have changed, and some shows might not reflect the standards of today’s politically correct society. The shows do not necessarily reflect the views, standards, or beliefs of Entertainment Radio

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Transcript
00:00Ranger Bill, warrior of the woodland, struggling against extreme odds, traveling dangerous
00:24trails, showing rare courage in the face of disaster.
00:28In the air, on horseback, or in a screaming squad car.
00:55Ranger Bill, his mind alert, a ready smile, unswerving, loyal to his mission.
01:05And all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done.
01:16Mr. Jefferson, I'm quitting the ranger service.
01:19Sit down, Corey.
01:20Let's talk this over.
01:21It won't do any good, sir.
01:23Tell me what you will, yellow coward, quitter, chicken, I don't care anymore.
01:28My bags are packed and I'm going back home.
01:31This is my final decision.
01:39You just heard the pathetic words from a young ranger, Corey Windsor.
01:45Pathetic in the fact that the lad wouldn't let me help him.
01:48Corey was not yellow, nor a coward, nor a quitter, nor chicken.
01:53He was a frustrated young man who needed direction and help.
01:57But let me begin at the beginning.
01:59Each year after graduation exercises at ranger school, the class is divided between ranger
02:04districts and the men are sent to their respective areas with orders to report to the chief ranger.
02:12It may seem strange that we're so tough on the newcomers, but you will find out why.
02:18This is the morning that I am to meet five new men who have just arrived from school
02:21and are waiting for me in the office.
02:23Corey, simmer down, will you?
02:25It's easy for you to say simmer down, Len.
02:27You're always cool, calm and collected.
02:30Also top man of the class, top man in field honors, top man on the totem pole.
02:35Me? I'm just ordinary.
02:37Oh, cut it out, Corey.
02:39For the love of Mike, you wouldn't be here if you weren't a good man.
02:42Why, look at how many guys washed out of school.
02:45Yeah, easy talk for you, Casey.
02:47I think you could look a rattler in the mouth and pick your teeth at the same time.
02:51Oh, here he comes.
02:56Oh, brother, my goose is cooked.
02:58Look at that uniform.
03:00Look at the build on that guy.
03:01Oh, I am looking.
03:03Wow.
03:04What's he made of?
03:05Iron and steel.
03:07Get back.
03:07He's almost here.
03:14Good morning, gentlemen.
03:16Good morning, sir.
03:22Corey Windsor?
03:23Here, sir.
03:25Leonard Kowalski?
03:26Here, sir.
03:27Fitzgerald Casey?
03:28Here, sir.
03:30I prefer to be called Casey, sir.
03:32Very well, Casey.
03:33We'll do just that.
03:35James Papacostas?
03:37I'm here, sir.
03:38Herman Klein?
03:39Here, sir.
03:40Very good.
03:42Now, gentlemen, grab yourselves a chair and we'll relax while I
03:45talk with you a bit.
03:50First of all, let me say that we're more relaxed out here than in school.
03:55My men call me Bill.
03:57We don't have any of the formality of school, but yet, on the other hand,
04:01the discipline will be tougher in other ways.
04:05The next six months will scare the heart out of you at times and shrink it a bit at others.
04:10Now, there's one extremely important subject you didn't take in school,
04:14except occasionally under very carefully controlled conditions.
04:19The subject is self-reliance, regardless of the circumstance.
04:24I'll repeat that.
04:26Self-reliance under any circumstances.
04:30Now, Corey, let's create an actual field problem.
04:33Yes, sir.
04:35A granddad grizzly is on the warpath.
04:38A granddad grizzly is on the warpath.
04:40He's raiding and killing every living thing that gets in his way.
04:44He's a wise and battle-scarred old warrior, a veteran of many skirmishes with man and beast.
04:50To make matters worse, he's nursing an infected tooth, and also an old wound,
04:55because someone shot him but never finished the job, or else the bear finished him.
05:00Now, this fellow hates man-scent, and he fears nothing, and he's tearing up the countryside.
05:09How many rangers would I send out to destroy the bear?
05:13About a dozen, I'd say, sir.
05:15I mean, Bill.
05:16No, not more than four, working in pairs of two.
05:20Not more than four?
05:21Not really.
05:21Depending on my immediate supply of rangers, I might send only two.
05:26Wow.
05:26Double wow.
05:28That's what I said when I came fresh from school.
05:32Now, suppose you were on an outpost station, and this same savage and vicious beast
05:36tried breaking into your stores and supplies, as they sometimes do.
05:41Casey, what would you do?
05:42Climb the nearest tree.
05:44He would.
05:44Well, I didn't say that to be smart, Bill.
05:47I mean it.
05:47Of course you do.
05:49But in reality, you'd have to kill that beast all by yourself.
05:53It's a case of kill or be killed, because after he ate or destroyed your stores and
05:58supplies, he'd go for you.
06:00Now, fellas, in the next six months, you're going to learn self-reliance,
06:04how to do the job you have to do without depending on anyone but yourself.
06:09Man, that's a large order, isn't it, Bill?
06:11Yes, Len, it is.
06:12But you can't be a ranger unless you learn this lesson and pass the course.
06:17We're going to teach you to think calmly and act intelligently,
06:21no matter what problem you face.
06:34Well, Casey, what do you think of Bill now that you've met him face to face?
06:38Well, I'd say he seems to be a pretty straightforward fellow.
06:41I think he'll give us a fair chance.
06:43Well, I don't dispute that.
06:45But what about all the stories we've heard?
06:47How much he expects from his men?
06:49You've got to discount some of them stories.
06:51You know, he's become a legend out here.
06:53OK, but then there's Stumpy Jenkins, Gray Wolf, Henry Scott.
06:58You saw Henry in the office.
07:00He appears to be a real level-headed and experienced operator, even for a teenager.
07:04Corey, are you afraid you're not going to measure up when it counts the most?
07:10Yeah, I guess that sums it up pretty well.
07:11Ah, hogwash.
07:13You'd been washed out back in school, if that were true.
07:16Uh-huh.
07:17Six months is an awfully long time to wait to find out if you can kill a grizzly all by yourself.
07:21Well, look at it from the other side.
07:24What other side?
07:24Well, the positive side.
07:26So?
07:27Six months is an awful long time to learn how to kill a grizzly all by yourself.
07:32Well, now that introductions have been made all around, here's the program for this week.
07:50Herman and Jim, you'll work with Gray Wolf for two weeks.
07:53Casey, Len, and Corey, you'll work with Stumpy for two weeks.
07:57Heh, heh, heh.
07:58You tender feet ready for your initiation?
08:01Heh, heh, heh.
08:03Do you always take such pleasure in starting us tender feet up the trail of actual experience,
08:08Stumpy?
08:09Heh, heh, heh.
08:09Yep.
08:10A fella's gotta have some amusement once in a while.
08:14Now let's get out to the horse barn and get ourselves some mounts and a pack critter and
08:18take off for the hills.
08:20What are we going to do first?
08:22That's a good question, sonny.
08:24Let me take a peek at my assignment sheet that's filed in my pocket.
08:38What is it?
08:39Oh, nothing much.
08:40We gotta clean out a few rattler dens.
08:43Clean out a few rattlesnake dens?
08:45Yep.
08:46There's a couple of them too near the tourist trails.
08:49Pesky reptiles might up and bite somebody.
08:53Nothing to be afraid of, son.
08:54This is just routine work.
09:07There's a den right below us.
09:11Man, I'd say it's a den.
09:13Look at them all around it, son, in themselves.
09:16Most of them aren't too big.
09:18But there's a couple of whoppers.
09:20Whoppers we gotta get.
09:21We don't get any of the rest.
09:23This is a fine place to sit and pick them off with a rifle.
09:26Pick them off with a rifle?
09:27No siree.
09:29Snakes can't hear, but they're mighty sensitive to vibration.
09:32We gotta be careful about stomping around too or we'll spook them.
09:36They'll scoot for the den like so many pack rats.
09:39How are you going to capture them?
09:41With a snake stick in a gunny bag.
09:44That means we gotta get in among them.
09:45Of course.
09:47I ain't never seen a snake stick that could reach from here.
09:51I'm going down there and get to work while the sun's making them feel lazy.
09:55You fellas stay here and don't stomp around, understand?
09:59Yes, sir.
10:00You watch sharp now how I do it.
10:02Because one of these days you're gonna have to do it.
10:09Boy, my skin's sure trying to crawl off my bones.
10:13My backbone is turning to jelly double time.
10:16I'm never gonna be a ranger.
10:17I can see that now.
10:18Oh, don't start that again.
10:20Let's watch this.
10:21I want to see how Stumpy keeps from getting himself shot full of vermin.
10:28Hey, there's Stumpy.
10:30He's almost in the center where they're sunning.
10:32Yeah, and there's a big one.
10:35Wow, did you see that?
10:37He's flipping them into a pile with a big stick.
10:39Look at him work.
10:41He ain't moving from the waist down.
10:43Look at the gunny sack.
10:45He's swinging it in front of him and the rattler strike at that and not him.
10:49Wow, he's got 15 or 20 piled up and they can't get away.
10:52Casey!
10:53I hear you.
10:55Bring me some gunny bags.
10:57Wear them extra heavy gauntlet gloves and shake a leg.
11:02Yes, sir.
11:03You fellas heard the man.
11:04Let's get down there and help him bag up the raptors.
11:07You fellas go ahead.
11:09I'll watch the horses so they don't run off.
11:15Casey, you got it straight now.
11:23What to do?
11:25Yes, sir.
11:26Don't move from the waist down and keep my face back from the open end of the sack as
11:32you're putting them in.
11:33Yep, that's it.
11:34Now, don't worry about your hands.
11:36Any of them gloves been tested a dozen times.
11:39These varmints can't get through that heavy leather.
11:42Stumpy, there's a big one getting away.
11:46Huh, we've been doing too much palavering and not enough work.
11:51Here they come, Casey.
11:53Leonard, you get the next bag ready.
11:56Yes, sir.
11:58Here's the first one.
11:59Okay.
12:00Another.
12:01Got it.
12:01Another one.
12:03Here's a big one.
12:04Okay.
12:05Here we go.
12:07All right, that's enough, Casey.
12:09You got plenty of gunny cloth there to tie a knot in the top of the sack.
12:14And we'll wire the knot later on.
12:17All right, Len, here they come.
12:18You ready?
12:19Would it do any good to say no?
12:21That's the spirit.
12:22All right, here you go.
12:24Got it.
12:25Quicker.
12:25A little bit more.
12:26There we go.
12:28Quick.
12:28Here's another.
12:30A couple more here.
12:32There, that's it.
12:33Now, tie it shut, young fella.
12:35I gotta take care of this dead one before Ricky Morty sets in.
12:40What are you gonna do with the dead one?
12:41You blew its head clean off.
12:43We're gonna have him for supper.
12:45Best eating you ever ate.
12:46You're gonna eat that poisonous reptile?
12:49Sure, we're gonna eat him.
12:51I'll get a long pole fixed up while I skin this fatty for his meat.
12:56You ought to be a real good taster.
13:13What did I tell you?
13:16A good taster, ain't he?
13:18Yeah, but the thought of the poison.
13:23Where'd you learn in school about how the reptiles are built, huh?
13:27Well, the poison sack is in the head.
13:30Yep, you remember that.
13:32Some day you might be stranded where there ain't no other food.
13:36Rattlesnakes take mine, save your life.
13:39You go someplace like Chicago and see what them stores charge for a wee jar of this stuff.
13:44Almost like buying gold.
13:46What are we gonna do with the snakes we've got in the sacks?
13:49Tote them up to the road and put them in the shade in the morning.
13:52When I radio in, I'll tell Bill where they're at,
13:55and the truck will pick them up and take them to the snake farm,
13:59where they milk them for making anti-venom syrup.
14:02You'll probably have a hundred of the pesky reptiles sacked before we're through.
14:08Somewhere along the line,
14:09you fellers are gonna have your chance to get a little first-hand experience.
14:14Now let's clean up, take all our utensils down to the creek,
14:18and scour them with sand.
14:20Then we'll set a spell and talk before turning in.
14:32Said I worked him for snake, huh? What's the matter?
14:36He's a little embarrassed because he lost his nerve
14:39when I called you fellers down to bag him.
14:41How'd you know?
14:44I wasn't born yesterday or the day before, sonny.
14:47And you ain't the first tender feet that this has happened to.
14:51It isn't?
14:51Nope.
14:52You ain't the last, neither.
14:54Well, I knew a feller one time that wanted to be a doctor the worst way,
14:58but every time he saw blood, he fainted away cold.
15:03Did he get to be a doctor?
15:04He sure did, sonny.
15:06After a while, he got tired of falling on his head every time he saw blood.
15:10He said he'd mind not to.
15:12Today, he's a surgeon.
15:14We'll find one, too.
15:16Thanks, old-timer.
15:18I'm beginning to see why you fellows have become legends out here.
15:21You're strong and tough men, but you're patient and understanding, too.
15:26Especially to a weakling like me.
15:29There ain't no human being that's perfect, Cory.
15:32Nope, not a one.
15:35You just relax now and get a good night's sleep.
15:38You'll need it come tomorrow.
15:40Thanks, Stumpy.
15:42I'll sleep just fine now.
15:45Me, too.
15:46I'm ready to hit the hay.
15:49You said it.
15:51Good night.
15:52Good night, you tender-feeted rangers.
15:56Aren't you going to sleep, old-timer?
15:58Yep, just as soon as I read a little here while the fire's still up.
16:02Read what?
16:03My New Testament.
16:05Oh, that.
16:07Good night.
16:08Good night, sonny.
16:17Stumpy, what's the matter?
16:19Be quiet now.
16:20Wake up Casey and Leonard.
16:22Where are they?
16:23Wake up Casey and Leonard.
16:24Where are they?
16:25Did you hear something?
16:26Yep.
16:27You fellers build that fire up and be quick about it.
16:30Sure.
16:34What's out there?
16:36A grizzly.
16:37A real-life grizzly?
16:38He's alive, all right.
16:40We better be or we might not be.
16:42Let's get our rifles loaded and ready.
16:43No, you don't.
16:45Why not?
16:45We've got a right to protect ourselves, even if we are greenhorns.
16:48And shoot each other while you're trying to shoot the bear?
16:52You just keep that fire roaring high and you'll have mighty good protection.
16:57In the morning we'll take a look at the trail signs and
17:00maybe we can tell what that grizzly is doing where there ain't supposed to be one.
17:18Why did you come back here to headquarters, old timer?
17:21You should have run that grizzly out of the country or destroyed him.
17:25I can't agree with that, sonny.
17:27I got three brand spanking new young rangers with me to look after too.
17:32Now you gotta admit that's a passable looking.
17:36But what better opportunity could they have had than to get some first-hand experience?
17:41All right, Mr. Bill Jefferson.
17:44What are you up to with all this foolish talk?
17:47What foolish talk?
17:49All right, I know you got something tickling your brain cells.
17:53But see, it is how I ain't one of them mind-reading fellers.
17:56I guess I'll just have to go along until you get ready to let the kitty out of the sack.
18:02Stumpy, I think it's time to sort out the men from the boys.
18:08You mean one of them tender-feeted rangers ain't a man?
18:13That's right.
18:14Oh, we all was skitteries when we first started out, weren't we?
18:19Uh, which one are you defending, old-timer?
18:25Well, don't tell me your well-exercised tongue has suddenly become stricken with rigor mortis.
18:30Bill, wouldn't be fair to judge any of them young fellers yet.
18:36They really ain't had a good chance yet.
18:39Okay, Stumpy.
18:41I won't ask you to violate your loyalty principles.
18:44But I want that grizzly out of the area or shot.
18:48And I want the job done quickly and expertly.
18:51Just me and the three lads?
18:54Corey, Casey, and Len?
18:57There's only one grizzly.
19:13Got your gear all packed, boys?
19:15Yes, sir.
19:16I'm ready to leave whenever you say the word.
19:18That goes for me too, Stumpy.
19:20Well, Corey, why ain't your gear packed?
19:23We got to hit the trail now.
19:25We wasted too much time already.
19:27That grizzly trail's getting colder by the minute.
19:30I... well, I...
19:32Come on, boys, spit it out.
19:34I'm not going.
19:35Call me a coward or whatever you want, but I'm not going with you to hunt down the grizzly.
19:39You sound sort of final, young feller.
19:43It is final.
19:45I guess Bill was right after all.
19:48What do you mean by that?
19:49Ah, forget it.
19:51We got us a grizzly to spank.
19:53We better get after the job pronto.
20:11Mr. Jefferson, I'm quitting the ranger service.
20:14Sit down, Corey.
20:16Let's talk this over.
20:17It won't do any good, sir.
20:18Call me what you will.
20:20Yellow, coward, quitter, chicken.
20:24I don't care anymore.
20:26My bags are packed and I'm going back home.
20:29This is my final decision.
20:31There isn't any transportation out of Knotty Pine until morning now.
20:36Perhaps by that time you'll calm down and think this through and change your mind.
20:41I've taken steps to prevent that.
20:44You have?
20:45Yes, sir.
20:46My father's driving here now and he'll meet me at the hotel in half an hour.
20:51Goodbye.
20:52Please don't argue with me.
20:55I won't.
20:56Goodbye, Corey.
20:58Thank you, sir.
21:11Are you Mr. Bill Jefferson?
21:12I am.
21:13I'm Corey Windsor's father.
21:15Oh, how do you do?
21:17Please have a chair.
21:19Did you find Corey at the hotel all right?
21:22He can wait for me.
21:24First, I'd like to talk about my son.
21:26Sure, go right ahead.
21:28Corey's written to me about how tough you are in your rangers, Mr. Jefferson,
21:32and I'd like to know the reason why.
21:34You'll have to define the word tough, Mr. Windsor.
21:39Tough in the sense of requirements, what they have to learn and do in a short period of time.
21:45Then they're put out on their own to sink or swim.
21:48Mr. Windsor, we never expect a man to swim until he's been taught how to swim.
21:55In the ranger school, the men are under constant observation
21:58for the simple reason that we've got to try and detect the men
22:02who have been clever enough to get past the original screening process.
22:06What are they being screened for?
22:09Inability to act under pressure and danger.
22:12Cowardice.
22:13No fear, Mr. Windsor.
22:15Not cowardice.
22:16A man wouldn't last a week in ranger school if he were a coward.
22:20Well, then what's wrong with Corey?
22:23Fear.
22:24Fear, fear.
22:25What kind of fear?
22:27And why?
22:28Fear of failure.
22:31Fear of failure?
22:33That's right.
22:34But why?
22:34Why?
22:36I don't know why, but as his father, you should.
22:39Well, I'd better meet Corey at the hotel now, and we'll start home.
22:43That's up to you.
22:45I'm sorry things turned out this way, Mr. Windsor, but understand one thing.
22:50Yes, sir?
22:52We must know that a ranger can be depended on to do the right thing
22:56at the right time in face of danger and pressure.
22:59If he blows up, it can cost the ranger's life and many other lives as well.
23:04Not to say anything about property damage.
23:06We can show the graduate ranger where the danger is,
23:10but we can't make him face it.
23:13That he must do himself.
23:15Pretty upset about this, aren't you, Father?
23:18Yes, Corey.
23:19I'd be lying if I said I weren't, but I don't put all the blame on you.
23:23You don't?
23:24No.
23:26I just don't.
23:27Well, I think I've got it.
23:29I've got it.
23:30I've got it.
23:32I've got it.
23:34I've got it.
23:35I've got it.
23:37I've got it.
23:39I've got it.
23:41I've got it.
23:43I've got it.
23:44No. Some of the blame belongs to me.
23:47Oh, Dad, how can you say that? You've been a good father.
23:51By some standards, perhaps.
23:53But somewhere along the line, I failed to give you self-confidence.
23:57Is that what's wrong with me?
23:59Yes, I believe so.
24:01How did you come to that conclusion?
24:03Well, I had a talk with Bill Jefferson before I picked you up.
24:06Oh, so that's why you were late.
24:09What did you two talk about?
24:11You.
24:12That figures.
24:14Hey, Dad, stop the car.
24:16Stop the car, Dad.
24:20Great Scott, Corey.
24:22That man's crawling alongside the road.
24:25He's a bloody mess.
24:26You stay in the car.
24:27What are you going to do with that rifle?
24:28Never mind. Just stay in the car.
24:30I can't. I've got to help that poor fella.
24:33Well, look at him.
24:34Stay in the car.
24:35There's a mad grizzly loose around here.
24:37Grizzly?
24:40Get to the house.
24:42Family, there.
24:44Get to the house.
24:46Grizzly, jump me outside.
24:48Try to get in the house.
24:49Okay, mister.
24:50I'm Ranger Corey Windsor.
24:52I'll get my dad to take you to the hospital,
24:54and I'll go after the bear.
24:55Oh, thank you.
24:56Family, the cabin over there.
24:58Find her.
25:00Dad, get this man to the Notty Pine Hospital.
25:03I'm going after the bear.
25:05Alone?
25:06Yes, of course.
25:07There's only one bear.
25:27Whoa, boy.
25:28Whoa, boy.
25:29Hey, looky there, lads.
25:31There's why the horses spooked.
25:34Man, there's been fighting.
25:36Broken rifle and blood all over the place.
25:39Bear tracks.
25:40Big one.
25:41This is it, boys.
25:43Don't tie your horses.
25:44Let them loose so they can run.
25:46There's a cabin up ahead about half a mile
25:48where Sam Brown and his family live.
25:50You think Sam and the grizzly tangled here?
25:52Yep, I do.
25:54We better get into high gear
25:55and find out where the grizzly is
25:57and what he's thinking up next to do.
26:05Look.
26:06The grizzly's halfway into the cabin window.
26:08Come on.
26:09We can't let it get to those kids.
26:11Hold it.
26:12It's something we haven't got time to argue.
26:14Close your jawbones and take a gander.
26:16Casey, it's Cory.
26:18He's beating the grizzly on the back with his rifle.
26:21Shoot him in the rump, boy.
26:23That'll make him back out of the winder.
26:25When he turns around, put one hand on his head
26:27and the other on his back.
26:29He'll be right back.
26:31He's getting back out of the winder.
26:33When he turns around, put one through his fat head.
26:36Come on, boy.
26:37Come on, Cory.
26:39He did it, Stumpy.
26:41Watch him, boy.
26:42He's turning.
26:43Stay away from those paws.
26:45Now blast him.
26:46Shoot, Cory, shoot.
26:48That guy's got ice in his mouth.
26:50The bear's gonna charge.
26:52He's got his big yap open, boy.
26:54Empty your rifle right into it.
26:57Oh, the bear's dead.
27:00Cory killed it, you hear?
27:02Cory killed the grizzly single-handed.
27:16Okay, fellas.
27:18You can stop shaking now like young willers in a windstorm.
27:22Yeah, it's all over.
27:24Cory, you were terrific.
27:26Man alive, I'll say.
27:28Just a minute, fellas.
27:29Let's not heap Cory with what he doesn't deserve.
27:32Bill Jefferson, what are you doing to my son?
27:34Why, this courageous act of his has given him the self-confidence he needs.
27:38It's terrific.
27:39Why, today he grew up and became a man.
27:41Ah, there you have it, Mr. Windsor.
27:44What are you getting at?
27:45Just this.
27:47Cory did only what he's expected to do
27:50and what he's been trained to do.
27:52He's more than become a man today.
27:55He's become a ranger.
28:09I know you're glad that Cory won out over his fear and doubts.
28:13Yes, Cory Windsor is now a full-fledged ranger
28:18and doing a top-notch job.
28:21Well, see you next week for more adventure with Ranger Bill!
28:48Ranger Bill was produced in the radio studios of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.
29:18The End
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