Ranger Headquarters

Ranger Headquarters
Big Pine National Forest, Knotty Pine

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Frenchy DeSalle

Frenchy DeSalle is one of the most frequent visitors to Knotty Pine and also one of the most beloved characters on Ranger Bill. Frenchy is played by the extremely versatile Rex Brenner.
Frenchy is featured in the Ranger Bill episodes "Timid Timothy" (RB025), "The River Monster" (RB028), 2-episode "Muscle and Prayer" (RB211 and RB212), "The Battle of the Lumberjacks" (Club #222), "Chinook" (RB033), "The Log Jam" (RB050), "Tongues of Fire" (RB186), and probably other episodes. If you know of other episodes featuring Frenchy, please e-mail me with the title or a description of the show and I will add that to this list.
"Muscle and Prayer" tells us that Frenchy was originally a logger in Canada with his father. Frenchy and his dad had trouble with a big angry man known as "The Bear." The Bear could kill an animal by crushing it to death. The bear had a fight with Frenchy's father and killed him. The Bear tried to kill Frenchy, but Frenchy fled to the Rockies and settled in near Knotty Pine. Frenchy is over 6 feet tall, a huge and powerful man himself. You can imagine how big The Bear must have been to scare Frenchy. "Muscle and Prayer" tells how The Bear finally tracked Frenchy to Knotty Pine to kill him.
In "Timid Timothy" Bill tells us that he had a fight with Frenchy and then the two became friends. Frenchy has been a Christian only three years in this show. "Timid Timothy" is an early Ranger Bill episode. I believe that there is the full story of Bill and Frenchy becoming friends among the 15-minute episodes that we do not have at this time. Hopefully Moody Audio will be able to find that story sometime soon.
We also know from these Ranger Bill episodes that Frenchy was a very rough character before becoming a Christian. I don't think Frenchy was much gentler than The Bear. People all around Knotty Pine used to FEAR Frenchy. He used to get drunk and fight like so many other loggers. With his size and power, the French Canadian hurt many men and destroyed lots of property. Since becoming a Christian, Frenchy is a totally changed man. He wouldn't hurt a fly. He is always willing to lend Bill a hand no matter how tough the situation.
Let me repeat that if you have any information you would like to add about Frenchy DeSalle, please email me, Ranger Dave, at rangerbillclub@aol.com. I will add your information on this page and credit you with the material.

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