The Lone Ranger

There could not possibly be a person alive today who has not heard, at some point in their life, of the Lone Ranger. Almost everything about the show became famous: the music, the silver bullets used by him, the great horse Silver, and his loyal friend Tonto astride his horse Scout.

From 1933 to 1956, the Lone Ranger rode the radio waves, and as one of the most successful radio programs in history, the Lone Ranger produced over 3,000 broadcasts.

I have written other editorials about the Lone Ranger over the years, which you can read by clicking here. But I've never written about how, and why John Reid became the paragon of virtue, the Lone Ranger. 

The story began in 1874, when he and five other Texas Rangers, led by his brother, Captain Dan Reid, were betrayed by their guide, Collins, and ambushed in a canyon by a murderous posse of outlaws they had been pursuing. Tonto, a Native American, later stumbles upon the grisly scene, where he finds John Reid, barely clinging to life as the sole survivor. 

Tonto nurses him back to health, and once well enough, John tells him that he intends to hunt down the posse of outlaws, the Cavendish gang, and bring them to justice. To conceal his identity and honor his fallen brother, John fashions a black mask using cloth from his late brother's vest; and to aid in the deception, Tonto digs a sixth grave and places at its head a cross bearing John Reid's name so that the outlaws will believe that all of the Rangers were killed.

In The Lost Years, broadcast on 14th July 1952, the story of the man who buried his identity, to dedicate his life to the service of humanity and country, is told in full. Listen today, and then test your Lone Ranger knowledge over on the It's Quiz Time page on RUSC. 

Good luck, and happy listening my friends,