Thursday, February 23, 2006 Looking back is a regular feature of the Modoc County Record, a weekly newspaper published in Alturas, California. The following is transcribed from the February 16, 2006 issue. Looking Back 92 Years Ago 1914 A NEW FANGLED gadget that runs a washer wringer by motor is responsible for a bad hand injury to Mrs. I.W. Gibbons. After she caught her hand in the contraption she could not get it loose and had to wait until her young son ran to a neighbors house to summon help . The Alturas Chamber of Commerce proposed transfer of the Modoc lava Beds out of the Modoc National forest and into the National Parks Service . Mayor W. L. Keene and councilman Charles Fitzpatrick terms of office expire and will be up for election on April 9 . It may be that a long drought is nearing an end as heavy rains hit the county. 52 Years Ago 1954 RALPH PILLS Laird and Ed Elliott are two charter members of the Alturas Fire Department that is now 41 years old and will celebrate its annual Firemans Ball here Saturday . The nation has a surplus of beef and how that surplus can be promoted will be the subject of a panel talks here Friday night . The first snow of the year arrived this week. 1954 is turning out to be an exceptionally mild year weather wise . A cast for the play Finder Creepers at Modoc High School has been selected by Mr. Patrick Tignor and includes; Wayne Kramer4, John Surmeir, Dick Carlsberg, Bob Stratton, Marty Wilcox, John Paul McKenney, Walter Mohr, Virgie Simpson, Phyllis Hinshaw, Sue Williams, Joyce Fuller, Delores Steward, Molly Ann Wilson and Barbara Ford. Pills Laird was a druggist and lived across the field from our house. Once we were pheasant hunting in Tulelake. The party consisted of my dad, Pills and Guy Young, and myself. On the return trip back to Alturas, Pills sat in the front passenger seat; dad drove and Guy and I reclined in the rear seat. Pills was pretty deaf, and my dad yelled at him to find out if he had unloaded his shotgun. Pills said that he thought so but would check it. He did by pulling the trigger and blew a pretty good sized hole in the roof of our Dodge sedan. After the noise had abated Pills asked dad if we had a tire blow out, and if we did we had better pull off the road quickly. He was pretty amazed when we showed him the hole in the roof. As I have often said, you can always tell a Modocer, but not very much. See you all again next week. Ron morgan