May 18, 2017
Volume 47 - No. 20
by lyle e davis
Lots of kids might want to grow up to be president but millions of young Texans want to grow up to be whitehatted, silver-badged Texas Rangers. After all, the Texas Rangers are the oldest law enforcement agency in North America with statewide jurisdiction. Rangers have a heritage that traces to the earliest days of Anglo settlement in Texas. They often have been compared to four other world-famous law enforcement agencies, the FBI, Scotland Yard, Interpol, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Rangers are part of the history of the Old West, and part of its mythology. Over the years, a distinct Ranger tradition has evolved.
That tradition comes as a result of a combination of the mystique of the old order of the mounted, fighting Texans, combined with a rich history, and a lot of very favorable publicity.
One of the most recognizable forms of publicity came from an old radio, and later, tv show known as “The Lone Ranger.”
For those youngsters who read The Paper, let us give a brief synopsis of
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the plot:
Created in 1933 by George Trendle for Detroit radio station WXYZ , the Lone Ranger was an overnight success. Over eight decades later, the popularity of the Lone Ranger remains high. The character starred in nearly 3,000 radio episodes, two movie serials, three feature movies, 18 novels, more than 220 television episodes, uncounted newspaper comic strips, comic books, cartoons and promotional items. Who was that "masked man?"
The Lone Ranger is the sole survivor of an ambush that killed five of his Texas Ranger comrades. With the help of Tonto, a friendly Indian who came to his aid, the Ranger buried his five companions and recovered from his injuries. In order to mislead the outlaws into thinking that all of the Rangers died, the Lone Ranger dug a sixth grave which was left empty. Hiding his identity with a black mask, he set out with his new friend to track down and apprehend the outlaws. HiHo, Silver! Away!
The popularity of the television western faded to near extinction in the 1970s. In the late 1980s it was reborn when baby-boomers, who grew up with the Lone Ranger and Tales of the Texas Ranger, hit middle age. The Lonesome Dove mini-series and
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Walker, Texas Ranger had introduced the Ranger to a whole new generation of fans.
Today’s Texas Rangers seldom are found in major shootouts . . in real life or on tv. Often they don’t even ride horses. If you can believe this, there are some Rangers that flat dislike horses!
outnumbered by as much as 50-to-1, so it was common for each man to carry multiple pistols, rifles and knives.
One writer said that a Texas Ranger could "ride like a Mexican, trail like an Indian, shoot like a Tennesseean, and fight like the devil."
"Rangers ride helicopters more than horses," said a R a n g e r s spokesman. "We may have one or two who don't even know how to ride a horse." One Ranger who preferred to ride in cars or aircraft was Bill Wilson. As CoB senior Ranger captain in 1977, he told a Frontier Battalion Co. B about 1880 ©2003 - Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum - Photo by Mike Cox journalist: “I don't even like horses. I swore the last time I got off a As former Ranger Captain Bob horse I'd never get on one again." Crowder once put it, "A Ranger is an Early Rangers were required to provide officer who is able to handle any given their own horses and equipment. They situation without definite instructions fought battles in which they were often from his commanding officer or higher
I Want to be a Texas Ranger! Continued on Page 2