Ranger Bill, warrior of the woodland.
Ranger Bill, warrior of the woodland, struggling against extreme odds, traveling dangerous
trails, fighting the many enemies of nature.
This is the job of the guardian of the forest, Ranger Bill.
Pouring rain, freezing cold, blistering heat, snow, floods, bears, rattlesnakes, mountain
lions.
Yes, all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done.
We might call our story today the Battle of the Aches, but the title wouldn't exactly
fit although the principle may be true.
New ideas have always met resistance by most of the so-called old timers in any given field.
It's a rare thing indeed for an elderly man to readily accept new ideas even when they
are tested and tried.
So when the new meets the old, the battle begins.
And this is the way it's been down through the years.
Let's find out how it works in the story, The Book Funger.
Whitey Moore has just arrived on the Fireball Express and his dad and two brothers are at
the Naughty Pine Station to greet him.
Whitey's got a coveted sheepskin in his pocket which says he's a graduate from the State
University College of Agriculture.
Well let's join the family now as they greet their educated brother and son.
Welcome home son.
My, you look fine.
Oh thanks, Pop.
You look good yourself.
Hiya, Craig.
Good to see you again.
How does it feel to be through with book learning, son?
Just fine, Pop.
Oh, I enjoyed school, but I'm glad it's over with now.
Have you got your sheepskin?
Yeah.
Sure, right here in my pocket, Bud.
Can I see it?
Yeah, I want to see it too.
Now what in the name of common sense are you doing with a sheepskin in your pocket?
Oh, it isn't a real sheepskin, Pop.
It's my diploma.
Oh, that's right.
I remember you talking about it now.
Here it is.
Wow, real fancy, huh?
Wow.
Is that all you get after four years of knocking your brains out?
That's all, Craig.
It's not the value of the paper, but the education it stands for.
Well, come on boys, we'll go home.
Your ma's got some party fixings made up for a celebration.
Boy it's sure good to be home.
We're glad to have you home, Whitey.
Tell me about college.
Well, it's just fine, Butch.
In college you pay to learn, it's up to you how much you absorb.
You're really on your own in a lot of ways.
There's a lot of real nice fellows there too.
You think I could go to college someday, maybe?
Sure, why not?
Book learning is all right for some fellows.
I'll get my farming from Pop.
Sure, sure, we both got our basic farming and ranching from Pop.
But at college you'll learn a lot of things that simply amaze you.
You mean Pop doesn't know all there is to know about farming and ranching?
No he doesn't.
Oh, I like that remark on that.
Where did you come from?
So you think I don't know farming and ranching after almost 40 years of it, eh son?
Well, I didn't mean it that way, Pop.
Nobody can know all there is about it.
Why, at college they've got professors who specialize in one subject only because the
field is so broad.
No one can know all there is to know about agriculture.
No, I don't know about that.
Pop does pretty good.
Right, but our farming and ranching could do a lot better.
Well, maybe so, Whitey, but we get along.
Now I'll tell you one thing.
What's that?
If you want to keep your happy home you'll soft-pedal your book farming around me because
I know cotton do this new stuff until it's tried and proven time and time again.
That's chonam.
What did Whitey go to college for if you're not going to let him try out what he got caught?
Whitey can try out what he's learned a little at a time.
I'm not going to allow my farm and ranch to become an agriculture experiment station.
I can't afford it.
We've got to get our bread and butter out of this place.
Don't worry, Pop.
I'm not going to start a revolution.
Now you're talking sense.
Just to see that you remember it.
Hey Whitey, what are you going to do?
About what, Butch?
About Pop's ult, ult, oh you know.
His ultimatum?
Yeah, that's what I meant.
Oh, I don't think he gave me an ultimatum.
Like I said, I'm not going to start a revolution.
Maybe not, but I saw you make a face about milking the cows tonight.
I was just thinking about how much better the job could be done with milking machines.
More sanitary too.
That's what I mean.
Isn't it going to kind of stick in your craw to have to do things old fashioned when you
know they can be done better?
Yes, I suppose it is.
But then I like living here, so I'll have to like an old eye.
Yep, that's about the way it stacks up, I guess.
Oh boy, oh boy.
Here's the seed, Julie.
To start out on the north section, Craig and Butch will bring out the rest in the truck
about ten o'clock.
Okay, Pop.
Say, did you inoculate these legumes?
The what?
Inoculate them.
You dampen the seed and then mix in the inoculating powder and the stuff clings to the seeds.
The inoculation helps nitrogen form on the roots and this gives you a bigger and better
crop as well as build up the nitrogen content of the soil.
Well, you don't say.
Well, I had the north section soil tested and the test showed the soil is in good shape.
Sure, but...
No buts about it.
Here's the seed.
Now get going before you waste half a day's planting time talking about book farming.
Why, D?
Yes, sir?
Wasn't there any more common sense in all these charts?
What kind of milk my cows are given?
Well, you know, if them are all earning their board and keeping making a little profit to
boot.
Well, maybe not each one, but this ain't a factory, you know.
Sure is, Pop.
We shouldn't keep a cow that can't make money for us.
It's too expensive to feed and born a dead beat.
Is that so?
Now you listen to me, young man.
These cows are good cows and don't you forget it.
I've had them a long time.
Even lose their shirts off their backs being sentimental, Pop.
Good men too.
Now I ain't lost my shirt yet.
I don't want you running around here with a measuring cup like these cows was given drops
of gold.
Let's stop, Brandon.
Take a break, son.
Yeah, sure.
Here comes Butcher, the bucket of lemonade to take the dust out of her throats.
Fine.
Craig, knock off for a while and take a breather.
Okay.
Here you are.
Moth good homemade lemonade.
That's good.
Nothing better.
This is fun, boys.
Sure does.
Why is dust is terrible?
Pop.
Yeah?
I've got an idea how to rebuild the Brandon chute so we could brand four calves at one
time.
Well, here we go again.
Quiet, everybody.
Genius at work.
Knock it off, Craig.
I ain't heard you giving up with any ideas.
Listen, you little...
Hey, cut it out, you two.
What do you say, Pop?
I say no.
Brandon one calf at a time is not worth running two or three men.
More time would put us all in our graves early.
Oh, no, it wouldn't.
But the way I'd build the new chute would make Brandon four almost as easy as Brandon
one.
He'd be through two days earlier.
I'll give it some thought.
Maybe we can do something about it next year.
Pop, do you know we've got almost 40 hens in here that should be in a stew pot because
they're too old and quit laying?
Sure do, son.
Didn't know how many, but I know we had some stewing hens in the lot.
We'll eat them up for Sunday dinners or the like.
But Pop, 40 loafing hens eat a lot of feed.
They sure do.
But they'll stay fat that way until we eat them.
Oh, that's like pouring money down the drain.
Yeah, and what would you suggest we do with them?
Butch them and sell them on the market or trade them in town.
But then we'd have room to bring in 40 pigs and we'd be good laying hens in three months.
Is that so?
Why, I've had about all I'm going to take from you.
If you don't stop calling me down on every turn I make, you're going to have to leave
home, understand?
Yes, sir.
I understand.
Hey, Whitey, can I go to town with you?
Yeah, sure, Butch.
Thanks.
Hey, I heard Pop telling Ma that you and he had a pretty good blowout.
That is, Pop did all the blowing out at you.
Yeah, that's right.
You ain't going to leave home, are you?
No, not yet anyhow.
Boy, that's good.
You had me scared from the way Pop talked.
Hey, Brain, why don't you lay off Pop?
What do you mean lay off?
Stop arguing with him.
You know I never argue with him.
I was only trying to help.
Yeah?
Well, keep your book from him to yourself and leave Pop alone.
He's doing fine the way it is and that's the way I want it too.
Suit yourself, Craig.
I'd like to see you try to run a farm and a ranch all by yourself.
Just you and your books.
That'd be rich.
And how?
Don't let him rile you, nun Whitey.
I'm not.
Come on, let's go to town.
I'll fix the tailgate here.
We'll be off.
Hey, how come you got all these papers in the cab?
Oh, that's a project I'm working on.
I'm gonna stop and see the county agent after we deliver the milk.
Hey, this must be old home week.
Look at all the farmers and ranchers in Clay's office.
Hello, fellas.
I think you're right, pal.
This must be old home week.
Hello, Bill.
Why don't you pull up a piece of the floor and sit and let your feet hang down?
That's no joke.
How come all the crowds?
Oh, I don't know.
Just happened, I guess.
Clay, you don't happen to have a spare F-82 form lying around, do you?
I think so, Bill.
I'll take a look.
Okay, thanks.
Hiya, men.
Oh, Whitey Moore.
Oh, Whitey.
You're getting a taste of real farming again.
Sure, fellas.
Come on up and see the improvements in the old homestead.
Say, Clay, I'd like to borrow that book again.
Sure thing.
Got it right here.
You gonna plant that book, Whitey?
I think a plain old bush of a corn would do more for you.
What's that all about?
I don't know, but I'm sure gonna find out.
Come on.
So, that's the way things have been going, Bill.
That's why the men were ripping you, huh?
Yeah, I guess so.
Words got around like it always does.
That's too bad.
Some of the fellas that were laughing at you could stand some book farmer by the looks of
their places.
Yeah, Henry's right, Whitey.
Don't ever back off, because those fellas rip you.
Education gives you the last laugh.
And I wouldn't feel bad about you and your dad, either.
A member of father's so used to telling his son what to do and how to do it, that it's
quite an adjustment to have it turn the other way.
Oh, just be patient.
He'll come around.
Use self-control, and your dad will back you to the hill someday.
Thanks for the encouragement, Bill.
You've helped me a lot.
I guess I need somebody like you to talk to, beginning to lose my perspective.
Well, your dad wouldn't have paid your way through college not to have you use it.
I think he's testing you to see if you really believe what you learn and if you'll stick
with it.
When he's satisfied that you mean what you say, then he'll back off and let you take
over.
He's no youngster anymore, you know.
Well, I never thought of it that way.
Bill, you put the silver linings back in the clouds.
Hey, Whitey!
What's the matter, Clay?
Oh, I'm glad I found you so fast.
Your brother just called and wants you to come home right away.
Your father's suddenly taken sick.
Thanks for coming out, Bill, Henry.
Oh, that's all right, Whitey.
Is there any way we can help?
Not right now.
The Doc's still with Pop.
How bad is he?
Heart attack.
Oh, that's too bad.
Yeah, Doc says Pop's been working too hard for his age and he's got to take a long rest
now.
I guess it's up to Whitey now to run things.
Well, it looks that way, but I sure didn't want it to happen this way.
That's often the case, Whitey.
I'm sure your father can take a good rest, though, knowing that his farm and ranch are
in capable hands.
Claire, nice to see you.
Well, how are you, Herman?
And how's the farm?
I'm feeling fine now.
But what do you mean, the farm?
Well, I see your son has changed things considerable since he's the boss.
Why, is Whitey using a combine to harvest her grain?
Ain't a thrashing machine good enough for him?
I'll have to talk to him about it, Morgan.
Seems to me it should have done that long ago.
Hank, Whitey told me the steers was prime weight when they sent him off to market.
Seems to me he shipped them off three weeks early.
Isn't the seed around here good enough for Whitey?
How come he sent off for it?
What's wrong, Whitey?
Your call sounded urgent.
Well, it is.
The doc says Pop's recovery isn't satisfactory.
Oh, that's too bad.
Sorry to hear it.
Did the doc say why?
Yep.
Pop's too close to home.
He's running the place from his bed and all his friends keep pouring ideas into his head
and they keep him posting on me.
It's like Job's friends, huh?
What did you say, Bill?
Oh, I was just talking to myself.
How can I help you, Whitey?
Well, Pop won't agree to go to a rest home about a hundred miles from here where he can
really rest.
Would you talk to him?
You think he'll listen to me?
Well, everybody else failed, even the doc.
You have a way of sort of convincing people.
Okay, I'll talk to him.
I suppose you've come to see me for one purpose, to twist my arm into going to that tom fool
rest home.
You've hit the nail square, Herman.
Well, you might as well save your breath.
If you don't go, you will be the one who will have to save his breath.
Now, you're trying to scare me out of here.
Herman, don't be a fool.
You got Whitey and Craig and Butch to run the farm and the ranch.
Whitey'd make this place an experiment station and Craig don't have the maturity to run the
place by himself.
Now, you won't always be around to pamper them, remember?
You might pull through this heart attack by staying here, but the chances are that you
won't.
Or what's worse, you might end up an invalid.
And that would be a fine way to live out the retiring years of your life.
I never quite looked at it that way, Bill.
You'd better look at it the smart way and look fast so you can get some rest to save
your life.
But I can't afford a thousand dollars to go away and rest.
Your family would have to pay that much for your funeral.
You have all the answers, don't you?
Now, let's not get excited, Herman.
Why don't you talk it over with Whitey and Craig?
All right.
Tell the boys I want to see them.
Well, boys, what you got to say?
You go to the rest home.
We'll run the place while you're gone.
You won't have a thing to worry about.
Not even a hospital bill.
That's the way I figure it too, Pop.
How are you going to pay the hospital bill?
Well, I got that all figured out too.
We'll have the money when you come home in three months.
Come on, Pop.
You know we can do it and you know you need the rest.
So?
I see you got some backbone too, Craig.
I wasn't trying to be rude, Pop, but I mean what I say.
If you don't go, we're going to have to have you taken there anyhow because the doc says
you've got to do it to live.
Now, both of you got your backs up like tomcats on a fence.
Here's what I am going to do.
I'll go to that tomfool place under one condition.
Name it.
Whitey, you run the farm and Craig, you run the ranch.
One of you just keep an eye on the other.
How's that sound to you?
Fine, just fine.
Yeah, that's Jake with me.
It is, eh?
Yeah.
Well, Craig, you keep Whitey from using too much of that book farming and Whitey, you
keep Craig level-headed.
Is that a deal?
Sure.
Yeah, right.
Tell the doc to get the ambulance and take me to the rest home.
Now I'm going to get some real rest.
If you fellas don't make the grade, it's your funeral, not mine.
We're not worried about our part, but we do want you around for another 20 or 30 years
at least.
That's right, Pop.
We don't want you out long.
Well, thanks, boys.
It's nice to know that an old-timer still wanted in this modern scientific age.
Don't forget about your younger brother while I'm gone and take good care of your ma.
We will.
And you take good care of yourself, too.
Thank you, son.
And I will.
That's a promise.
Man, everything's coming out down out there, but the kitchen sink.
Well, now the sink is down, too.
I'm glad I don't have a stand of grain getting plastered to the ground.
You would be.
How are you going to harvest your grain, Whitey?
What's the book say about rain and wind flattened grain?
It says plenty, but you can't read anyhow.
You'll just have to take the loss like Pop would have taken it.
Don't be too sure about that, brother.
A combine can pick up pretty close to the ground and save a lot of grain.
Pop wouldn't use a combine.
He trashed with a crew.
A combine picks up the down grain and saves the heads from being shaken off.
Trashing with a crew would really raise the loss by the time you got through bouncing
the stuff around.
Oh, maybe so.
But we'll see, Booker Farmer.
How's he doing with the combine, Butch?
Real good, Craig.
He ain't losing hardly anything.
I can see that.
There's hardly a bit of down grain after the combine goes over.
Pretty good book farming, don't you think?
Maybe this once he's got it going his way.
But I got some news for him that'll make his books look sick.
This isn't bad.
It isn't?
No, no.
I've lost about 50 acres of corn from the rain.
But I can fix that in a hurry.
What did I tell you, Craig?
Why do you think you're giving me the business now?
This corn's washed out but good.
What are you gonna do, swim after it?
No, I'm gonna send for some 90-day corn seed.
It'll grow and mature at the same time as 120-day corn that's already planted.
I'd say he's a pretty good book farmer, wouldn't you?
Well, something wrong with the mower genius?
You ought to know.
You used it two days ago to cut hay.
Would work fine for me, Whitey, honest.
That's the truth.
I wouldn't play a trick like that.
Yeah, I believe you.
It'll take a long time to get it fixed.
Now you can't cut the soybeans.
Too bad your big cash crop will go to pot, Whitey.
You lose a lot of money because of this busted mower.
We'll see about that.
We'll see.
Whitey said I should help you the rest of the day, Craig.
Oh, fine.
I can use it.
What's Whitey gonna do now that he can't cut soybeans?
Oh, he's cutting them.
By hand?
No.
With a tractor and power mower he rented from Paul Booth.
How'd he get it out here so soon?
Telephone.
Paul picked up the busted mower and dumped off the rented job at the same time.
He was here 20 minutes after Whitey called.
You know something, Butch?
What?
I thought I was gonna give that book farming brother of mine a bad time while Pop was gone.
But instead I've got nothing but admiration for him.
He sure has what it takes to get done what he sets his mind to.
He didn't learn that in school.
He got that from Pop.
Yeah.
I guess the smart thing to do is take some of the old and mix it with some new and it
works out fine.
So things are coming along fine, huh, fellas?
Yep.
Oh, we've had our problems, Bill, but then who hasn't?
That's what makes a fight better.
Ah, now you're talking, Whitey.
Whitey's made his roll of dawn.
I'm making mine tomorrow.
Yeah?
What's happening?
I'm shipping these steers over here before daybreak.
Why so early, Craig?
Well, if I get them to market just when the buying starts, I won't have to pay for feed
and pens to hold them over.
They'll be bought right off the truck and they won't lose a pound.
All I have to do is to pay the broker's commission.
Hey, that's sharp thinking, all right.
And that's not from the book.
Pop taught us that.
Ah, that's fine.
You know, experience of our elders is a mighty valuable thing.
They know all of the little tricks that count in the long run.
Just as much as what Whitey's learned in college.
You couldn't get your father's experience out of textbooks.
That's right, Bill.
And I'm going to try and learn all those little tricks from Pop when he gets home.
And I'm going to college and learn book farming and ranching.
And me too.
When's your dad coming home?
Next week.
Thursday, to be exact.
Well, do you have enough to cover the...
What do you call this?
Soap wrappers?
And I've got my money from the cattle sale to match Whitey's roll.
Oh, that's wonderful.
Your father can be real proud of his son.
Well, this is the day, boys.
I waited three months for this.
Say, you look great, Pop.
I'll say.
You had a good rest, huh?
I'll say I did.
Didn't worry about a thing.
I'm glad you're well again.
It'll sure be nice to have you home.
Oh, thanks, hon.
Which one of you is going to bail me out of here?
We both are.
Here's the loot.
And mine.
Great day in the morning.
$2,000.
Are you pleased?
Pleased.
I'm tickled pink.
You know, I sort of like this resting idea after 40 years of working hard.
You boys can just run things from now on.
Oh, that's great, but first I want to go to agriculture college.
All right.
You can use some of the money you made as a starter.
And I'll help Craig along, Pop.
While he's in school, I'll learn from you all that your experience has taught you.
Say, you fellas will be way ahead of me when you get to be my age.
Yeah, this book farming really pays off.
And that's the way the battle of the old and the new usually turns out.
And it's the way it should work out.
The experienced seasoning sprinkled in with the new ideas, and you come up with a perfect
formula for getting ahead.
See you next week for more Adventure with Ranger Bill.
Howdy, this is Stompy Jenkins, Ranger Bill's old sidekick.
As I guess you all know, just adding a little extra word of thanks for getting yourself
in on the program today.
Always glad to have you along.
And I hope you invite your friends too, for we sure got lots of adventures to tell you
about.
And we don't want you to miss any of them.
So you make sure to be there by your radio every week.
And lose out on our next story.