Bill hits another milestone - 60 years on US airwaves!!!

Ranger Bill reaches another milestone in 2014. He's celebrating 60 years on the air nationally, and now with the help of His Kids Radio Ranger Bill is webcast over Internet, internationally. Bill's been on the air nationally since the fall of 1954 - October 4, 1954 to be exact.
Ranger Bill began as a 15-minute radio program aired on WMBI back in 1950. Bill was heard on Monday afternoons by those Chicago-area kids. A single adventure would last 3 or 4 weeks or more. His first two adventures were the "Pendleton Valley Fire" and "The Missing Buffalo Herd".
Interest in Ranger Bill grew. So in 1953 Bill became a 30-minute program aired on Saturday mornings. Each week brought a new Ranger Bill adventure over radios in Chicago. Interest in Ranger Bill continued to grow, and in the fall of 1954, the cry of "Ranger Bill - Warrior of the Woodland" was heard over radios all across the United States.
Let's have a little fun with this 60th anniversary. Record your best impression of Bill or Stumpy or any other Ranger Bill character and e-mail it to rangerbillclub@aol.com. and I'll post it here. You might also try doing an entire Ranger Bill opening (there are 2). Send your mp3 audio, and I will post it!!!
Thanks. And Enjoy!

Happy Birthday RANGER BILL !-!-!-!

Yes, it's finally here! Saturday, October 2, 2010, is the 60th anniversary of RANGER BILL !!!! Moody Broadcasting's WMBI began broadcasting RANGER BILL on a Monday afternoon, Oct. 2, 1950, at 4:15PM.

I want to take time to mention some of the people that helped give us the many adventures of Bill, Stumpy, Henry, and Gray Wolf. Miron Canaday was the voices of Bill and Stumpy. Ed Ronne, Sr. was the voice of Gray Wolf. Roger Compton was the voice of Henry. Bill Pearce was the voice of Ralph. Rex Brenner played characters like Frenchy DeSalle each week. Charles Chirstensen and Jim Grant were the show directors. Charles Erkhart and John Rowan were RANGER BILL's talented writers. Miron, Roger, Rex, and Bill Pearce have all passed away. To the best of my knowledge, Ed and Charles Christensen are doing well these days. I don't have any current information on the rest of the cast and crew.

See my July 25, 2010 post on the cast and crew for a few others involved in the show.

And it is thanks to the wonderful folks at HisKids.Net that you can enjoy a different RANGER BILL story each and every week. Please support HisKids.Net with your gifts and prayers.

Ranger Bill Anniversary Celebration!!!

It may be hard to believe, but RANGER BILL will officially turn 60 on October 2, 2010!!! To celebrate this milestone in Ranger Bill's career, The Ranger Bill Fan Club is starting the Ranger Bill "You CAN Do It" Celebration. The club is asking YOU members and all YOU who love and listen to Ranger Bill to say thanks for all the RANGER BILL fun and adventure YOU have enjoyed by supporting HisKids, or Moody Broadcasting, or your local Christian radio station in a RANGER BILL way. Try recycling aluminum cans or newspaper and taking the money you make from recycling and donating that. Donate a RANGER BILL CD to your church library or your local public library. You could even buy and plant a tree for Ranger Bill (maybe a pine tree!) with some recycling money. This is strictly my (Ranger Dave's) idea. None of the organizations mentioned above are part of or have any knowledge of this RANGER BILL project. If you have any suggestions for RANGER BILL "You CAN Do It" projects, send them to me at rangerbillclub@aol.com and I'll mention them in future notes regarding this 60th anniversary.
If you can't participate in the Ranger Bill "You CAN Do It" Celebration, then please take the time to mention Ranger Bill to a friend and let them know that Ranger Bill is available here at the club's Blogger site any time 24/7.
Yes Ranger Bill made its debut on a Monday afternoon in 1950 on Moody Radio with Pendleton Valley Fire. Pendleton Valley Fire was a three-part story broadcast in 15-minute segments. Part one of the story really featured Col. Anders who was leading fire fighting teams in the valley. It really wasn't until part two that we got to hear from Bill and Henry. Stumpy and Gray Wolf would join the team in subsequent episodes.
I need to also mention that the 200+ half-hour Ranger Bill stories that we all know and love so well began in 1954. So our 30-minute episodes are celebrating 55 years on the air!
There's just one more anniversary I need to mention. The Ranger Bill Fan Club's web site just turned 6 years old on the 4th of July. Thanks so much for your interest in and support of Ranger Bill. Your weekly support and your emails make operating this blog site most enjoyable and rewarding.
Have a wonderful and blessed day!

In Christ,
Ranger Dave