Knotty Pine GAZETTE - Big Pine Origins Revealed

Boxes and a shovel found at Ranger Headquarters have helped reveal much of the history of Big Pine National Forest. At least one, and probably two or more Civilian Conservation Corps camps were organized in the Knotty Pine District. Camp 1, as it was officially known, was nicknamed Camp Shady.
Many of the forested areas in the Shady Valley suffered from overlogging and forest fires that burned hundreds of acres. Approximately three fourths of the region's trees had been lost, and erosion caused further damage. Nothing had been done to repair or replace those pines until the CCC camp was established at Knotty Pine.
The boys at Camp Shady planted thousands of trees, repaired erosion damage, and dug ditches and creeks to prevent erosion. The boys also built Ranger Headquarters, including its fireplace of rock from all over the Shady Valley.
Camp Shady began as a military style tent camp. As time went along, the boys were moved into some of the Knotty Pine warehouses that the boys converted into barracks. The boys were well fed and warmly clothed. The Ranger Bill Jefferson home was home to the commanders at Camp Shady.
The 3C Boys were paid a modest $30 per month. $25 of that was sent to each boy's family to help support the family during the Depression. $5 went directly to each boy for personal expenses. Knotty Pine was a tiny one-horse farm town struggling to survive during the Depression. The money spent by the 3C Boys and to run Camp Shady kept Knotty Pine from disappearing at that time.
The boys were paid more than just $30 per month. Many boys has little or no education. Many could not read or write. Few had any working skills. The boys at Camp Shady were taught to read and write and learned trades like plumbing, carpentry, drafting, surveying and more during the evening hours. Many of these classes were held at Ranger Headquarters and at the Jefferson home.
The volume of information on Big Pine and the 3C Boys was too large for one article. So the GAZETTE editors have decided to break this into a series of articles. The editors felt that this information was too important to skip any of the details. Look forward to information on the Maggie Murphy family connection to Big Pine. Also Information Ranger Rocky McGuire has found more details on the CCC in Knotty Pine and another Depression era program, the WPA.

Weekly Ranger Bill Updates

Ranger Dave sends out a weekly Ranger Bill update. The update gives information on the show for the week and for the next two episodes. The update also contains a little show trivia, news from Knotty Pine, as well as news about other His Kids broadcasts and Sailor Sam.
Email the club to receive your Ranger Bill weekly update at rangerbillclub@aol.com.

RB-034 Piggyback

Leonard Grant's Canyon City Truck Lines are struggling to survive. His trucks can't handle the combination of mountainous roads and heavy snow and ice during the winters in and around the Knotty Pine area. In addition to tough roads, Len's trucks must compete against the railroads who can get in any sort of weather. Len buys new trucks with special gears for icy weather. The trucks also have road sanding equipment installed. The trucks are even traveling in groups of three for safety.
The railroads are having troubles of their own. They can't provide door-to-door service that their customers get from Len's trucks. And they aren't making money on many of their contracts.
Len's men and the railroad workers are fighting and arguing constantly. Can Bill do something, anything, to bring peace and harmony to this situation? Can he find any way for both companies to keep business and do it profitably?

Knotty Pine GAZETTE - Jefferson Box Opened

A locked wooden box discovered by Henry Scott in Ranger Bill Jefferson's attic was identified and opened yesterday. The box appears to be connected to a mystery going on at Ranger Headquarters concerning the origins of Big Pine Forest and Depression era workers called the "3C Boys."
Ranger Bill and Henry took the box to Masters Lock and Key to have its lock opened. Maggie Murphy arrived at the locksmith with a key that unlocked the box. Mrs. Murphy is housekeeper for Ranger Bill's co-worker Stumpy Jenkins. She said that Mr. Jenkins told her of the box with the initials "JJF" on the lid. Maggie said the box must have belonged to her oldest brother John Jeffery Flanigan. Maggie, along with Ranger Bill and Henry, found letters from her family to her brother, a diary, and more.
Maggie told the GAZETTE that her brother worked on a Knotty Pine CCC crew to help his family survive the Depression. John was also called Jack because so many Irish boys were named John then. Maggie was a baby when Jack worked as a 3C Boy. Jack came home to Ohio in the early 1940's with stories of a quaint little town that he helped build called Knotty Pine. The family eventually moved to Knotty Pine. Maggie has lived here ever since.

Thanks for your support!

Thank you one and all for your support of this Ranger Bill web site. On Fathers Day we reached the mark of 10,000 hits so far for 2009! What a wonderful Fathers Day gift!
And many thanks to HisKids for the wonderful Ranger Bill audio each week!!! The Ranger Bill Fan Club is most blessed to have such faithful Ranger Bill listeners and such good friends.
Have a blessed day everyone!
And again, my thanks,
Ranger Dave