RB073 The End of the Rope and RB046 The Handcar Race

Our Ranger Bill

for Saturday, February 29, 2020 is

The End of the Rope and The Handcar Race

I have a rare situation where the weekday Ranger Bill stories and the weekend stories overlap. I just posted "The End of the Rope" on Tuesday on Facebook and it is playing again today. I posted "The End of the Rope" on Feb. 25th. Just scroll down a few days on the Ranger Bill Facebook page to catch that show.

For those of you who may follow the weekday shows, I have posted The Handcar Race for today on Facebook.

The End of the Rope

Two young boys, Bart Norton and Jeff Murdock, come to Knotty Pine for a vacation. The boys have strict orders to only do what Bill and Henry say is safe. The two get bored and decide to climb a dangerous cliff. No good can come from this decision.

The Handcar Race

The Fireball Express is streaking north toward the Knotty Pine region at 100 miles per hour with 400 souls on board. "Unc" McFadden is the rail dispatcher at Junction City. His job is making sure that the trains under his care get to their destinations safely. That includes the Fireball Express. Heavy rains followed by flash flooding threaten the rail trestles and bridges near Knotty Pine. To be safe, Unc sends a trestle tester engine to check the northern line especially the old trestle over 800-foot-deep Cougar Canyon. What will the tester crew find? This doesn't sound like any kind of a race to me. What does a handcar have to do with the whole problem? And what does this have to do with our rangers?

Hear this week's adventure on our Facebook page (click on the link in the right column) or catch it on Tunein.com this weekend (several stations play it on Saturday).

RB072 The Clown of Blue Lake

Our Ranger Bill adventure 

for February 22, 2020 is

The Clown of Blue Lake

Ben Stout and Pop run High Ridge Lodge at Blue Lake. A mysterious creature is attacking tourists all around the lodge. Folks aren't safe in the water or on land. And they are beginning to believe that this is some sort of monster. Ben calls in Bill and Stumpy to get rid of this not-so-funny clown of Blue Lake.

Hear this week's adventure on our Facebook page (click on the link in the right column) or catch it on Tunein.com this weekend (several stations play it on Saturday).

RB071 A Dog's Worst Enemy

Our webcast of Ranger Bill

for the week of February 15, 2020 is

A Dog's Worst Enemy

Several dogs get sick and die suddenly in Knotty Pine. The dogs were POISONED!!! Their owners and most people in Knotty Pine are furious about it. They want the man who did this caught - NOW. Mailman Abe is accused of killing dogs.

 

Hear this week's adventure on our Facebook page (click on the link in the right column) or catch it on Tunein.com this weekend (several stations play it on Saturday).

Jedediah Smith - Christian Mountain Man

Jedediah Smith was born on January 6, Epiphany, 1799 in what is now Bainbridge, New York. Jedediah's family, especially his father had a great love for the new territories of the young United States. The family moved to western Pennsylvania in 1810 and then to Green Township in Ashland County, Ohio in 1817. With the family running low on money, Jedediah left home in 1821 to look for work, and he went west.

Smith was a Christian young man. Wherever he went, he carried three books with him, his Bible, his journal, and an 1814 first copy of Lewis and Clark's journals. (Only 1,417 copies of that first printing were sold to the public.) Jedediah practiced his faith. He prayed, read his Bible, and meditated daily.

By 1822 Jedediah had gone as far as St. Louis and was hired by General Ashley as a trapper with his American Fur Company. After only a few months of trapping in the wilderness, his party was attacked by Arikaras warriors and 13 men were killed. Jedediah fought bravely. Gen Ashley noted Jedediah's bravery and made him a trapping party captain.

In 1824, Smith was able to obtain a map made of buffalo skin and sand that helped him locate South Pass, a critically important break in the Rockies that made it possible to travel safely and easily through those mountains.

Also in 1824, Smith was attacked by a grizzly bear. The bear broke some of Jedediah's ribs and ripped open a place in his side. Then the bear bit his head, nearly scalping him and tearing loose most of his right ear. Smith directed a fellow trapper and friend, Jim Clyman, how to sew his scalp and ear back on. Smith survived the attack but was left with a nasty scar on the right side of his face that he covered with his long hair. Can you imagine being scarred like that at 25. That's tough for anyone to deal with!

In 1831, Smith was working on a wagon train delivering supplies to Sante Fe for the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. The wagons were several days ride away from Sante Fe when they ran low on water. Jedediah went to find water. A group of Comanche hunters trapped him in a box canyon and killed him. The Comanches took his rifle and pistols and sold them in Sante Fe. The folks on the wagon train thought Smith got lost and hoped he would catch up with them in Sante Fe. When they got there they found Smith's guns for sale and heard about his death. They recovered Jedediah's guns and returned them to his brother.

None of Smith's other belongings or his body were ever found. Jedediah's Bible, journal, and his copy of Lewis and Clark's journals (all extremely valuable today) were never recovered. Could those three books still be somewhere along the Sante Fe Trail waiting to be recovered?

RB070 Houseboat Charlie

Our broadcast of Ranger Bill

for the week of February 8, 2020 is

Houseboat Charlie

Houseboat Charlie has been ferrying folks back and forth across the Shady River longer than anyone can remember. He’s survived outlaws and Indian attacks, heat, fires and more. Bill wants him to dock the ferry until the heavy rains and flooding stops, but Charlie isn't about to let a little rain scare him.

 

Hear this week's adventure on our Facebook page (click on the link in the right column) or catch it on Tunein.com this weekend (several stations play it on Saturday).

RB069 Earthquake

FBN's broadcast of Ranger Bill

for February 1, 2020 is

Earthquake

Bill and Ralph enjoy watching the construction of a new office building. Then an earthquake strikes Knotty Pine causing fairly minor damage. More quakes are forecast. Bill thinks the town’s disaster teams need more training. 

Key Phrase - "Don't lose your head or you may lose your life."

Bernie Holcman - Civil Defense Coordinator

Mr. Hansen - Construction Foreman