The Lone Ranger was not recorded on a regular basis until February of 1938. Prior, the program aired live over the Michigan Radio Network, the Don Lee Network, and the Mutual Broadcasting System. Therefore, Lone Ranger radio broadcasts prior to February 1938 should not be considered “lost” because they were never recorded in the first place. Thankfully, almost every radio script exists from the series so we have an opportunity to fill the gaps with plot summaries.
Episode #47, Broadcast May 18, 1933
Plot: The Sheep Gulch Gang has threatened to kill the cattle owned by Dave Grimm unless he pays fifty cents per head, an old-fashioned protection racket. Ever since the time he was stomped on by an untamed horse, old Dave Grimm’s legs have been useless and his wheelchair kept him confined to his home. In defiance of the gang, Glenn Stoddard, the foreman of the range outside of Cedar Point, plans to take the cattle through the Sherwood Gap, opposition or no opposition. Baldy, one of the ranchmen, is falsely suspected of being in league with the outlaw gang and is locked in a shack. The Lone Ranger rescues Baldy and tells him to cut down trees and built a raft. During the cattle drive of 6,000 head, the men are ambushed by the Sheep Gulch Gang and Baldy grabs his employer, considered one of the best shots in the county, and takes him to the raft on the river, from which The Lone Ranger and Dave get the advantage and vanquish the outlaws. Baldy proved he was not in league with the gang and Dave apologizes, admitting he never had so much fun since he lost the use of his legs.
Episode #49, Broadcast May 23, 1933
Plot: Widow Mattie Stevens wants to marry old Zak, who suffers from years-old bullet wounds that slow his arms and prevent him from fast-draw, which the town folk believe is a handicap for the job of sheriff. As a result, Zak does not run for re-election and surrenders his badge to the newly-elected sheriff, former deputy Jim Blake. This does not stop Zak from seeking vengeance against Bump Schottin, the two-gun outlaw who kills for fun and is responsible for putting the bullets in Zak’s arms. Soon after Sheriff Blake posts a $500 reward for Schottin, the outlaw comes to town to face off against the new sheriff and threatens to shoot him in the arms just like he did to the former lawman. Sheriff Blake pleads for the outlaw not to shoot saying he will withdraw the wanted poster and reward. The Lone Ranger intervenes and at the point of a gun orders Blake and Schottin to share duties digging a grave, explaining how in the morning each will have a gun and will draw and shoot at the count of three; the loser will be buried. The Lone Ranger taunts the outlaw and fills him with the terror of decaying in the grave, emphasizing how such digging would have weakened his arms. Jim Blake declares he is a coward, not deserving of the sheriff position, and hands over the badge to Zak. At the count of three, Schottin turns yellow begging to be arrested, proving that unless he has an edge over the competition, he is a coward. Jim returns to the job of deputy sheriff and puts Schottin to work building the new jail.
Episode #50, Broadcast May 25, 1933
Plot: Near the town of Osage, Kent Goodman’s Bar X Ranch has developed and prospered. When Kent visits town to propose marriage to Madge, the local schoolteacher, she confesses how is compelled to marry an Easterner, Bill Cooper, soon to arrive by stagecoach. Cooper demands that Madge marry him or he will evict her mother from her house in the East on which he holds the mortgage. Madge knows her late father paid off the mortgage but without the lost receipt she cannot prove her claim. Barney Armstrong also wants the hand of Madge and upon learning of her problem and that Kent plans to stop the stagecoach to steal the mortgage, masquerades as a bandit and robs the stage himself. After stealing the postal mail, Barney shoots the stage driver so his competition, Kent, will be arrested. The Lone Ranger secretly learns of the scheme, apprehends Barney and his assistant Tim Hicks, and the stolen mail, then tricks the schemers will into confessing their crime within the presence of the sheriff. The Lone Ranger takes the mortgage paper from Bill Cooper and burns it. Madge is freed from the obligation as the sheriff releases Kent from jail. The sheriff extols The Lone Ranger’s brand of western justice while holding Bill Cooper in custody until the next stagecoach heading east.
Episode #51, Broadcast May 27, 1933
Plot: Two-fisted old Tom King was the oil baron of a Texas region, with vast holdings and a large fortune built by hard work and good luck. Helen, his daughter, wants to marry Dave Webster, against the wishes of her father. Dave purchased a land option and plans to strike oil before a contractual deadline, lest he forfeit the land to her father who wants it by any means. By night, two mysterious figures worked on the shaft that was being drilled, one an Indian and the other a masked man. In spite of the double shift of work, however, Dave finds opposition masterminded by King. The general store will not provide supplies and the cost of a new drill bit exceeds credit allotted to the laborers. When Dave’s assistant, Stebbins, meets The Lone Ranger one evening, he agrees to follow a scheme that will save Dave from further complications. Tom King privately pays Stebbins $500 to sabotage the well by using a faulty drill bit. When this proves almost fatal to the hopes and ambitions of the young man, The Lone Ranger provides a magnet on the end of a rope to retrieve the broken metal and the oil well cracks through in time. Only after striking oil does the scheme unfold: Stebbins took the $500 to buy the necessary supplies and an extra drill bit – his payment from Tom King did not mention failure to fish out the snapped drill… a loophole and lesson that the old fire-eater happily learns the hard way.
NOTES: These plot summaries were reprinted from The Lone Ranger: The Early Years, 1933-1937, by Terry Salomonson and Martin Grams, Jr.
