WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN?

One of the first shows I remember on television [Besides Howdy Doody Time.} was The Lone Ranger. The show became very popular in the early days of television. The show ran from 1949 until 1957. The Lone Ranger originally broadcast on radio in 1933. The debut was on radio station WXYZ in Detroit Michigan. It continued on radio until 1954.

The Lone Ranger, a fictional character was believed to have been the sole survivor of a group of Texas Rangers. The ranger's while patrolling in the West probably in the second half of the 1800's were ambushed by the Cavendish Gang. They were a gang of outlaws led by Butch Cavendish. The group of Texas Rangers were all left for dead. But one ranger was not dead. His name was John Reid. He was badly wounded and found by a Native American named Tonto. Tonto nursed John Reid back to good health. John Reid's brother was also a part of the rangers and killed in the ambush.

When John Reid recovered, he and Tonto decided to become partners and fight bad guys. They wanted to help maintain law and order in the west. Reid needed a horse. They found a wounded great white horse roaming the land. John and Tonto helped the great horse recover. They named the horse silver.

John Reid decided to wear a mask because he felt it was best to keep his identity a secret. His first mask was made from cloth that came from his dead brother's shirt. The mask would not only keep his identity unknown, but he would feel his brother was close to him. Since John Reid was the only remaining member of that group of Texas Ranger's he decided he would be known as The Lone Ranger.

A couple of other interesting things you might have not known about John Reid's {now known as The Lone Ranger} background. It is believed he had inherited part of a silver mine. It was income from his share of the silver mine that made it possible for Tonto and the ranger to spend so much time running around fighting outlaws. They decided to name the horse Silver because of the silver mine. Did not make sense to name him gold or platinum for example since they already had a silver mine. Since they were able to get a good deal on silver because of the mine the ranger only used silver bullets which became his trademark. Tonto used regular bullets. Many people are not aware of these details

The Lone Ranger has been a popular character for a long time. Clayton Moore who played the Lone Ranger on the popular T.V. show made some his living making personal appearances as the ranger for many years. Several feature length Lone Ranger films have been made. Who was that masked man? He is the Lone Ranger.

WRITTEN BY

RON TURETT