August 31, 2005 Looking Back is a regular feature of the Modoc County Record, a weekly newspaper, published in Alturas, CA. The following is transcribed from the August 18, 2005 issue. Looking Back 96 Years Ago – 1909 WILLIAM POWERS returned this week from a trip to Bidwell. He was told there of a rich strike made by a prospector near Cave lake. The prospector is a new man, who after looking the district carefully over, began a systematic search. In the neighborhood of Cave Lake he found a rich ledge of ore, besides the dirt was rich in free gold. 86 Years Ago – 1919 DEPUTY SUPERVISOR Brown informs us that arrangements are underway for the establishment of an aero plane patrol for the purpose of locating forest fires on the Modoc National Forest. The route planned is from Redding to Alturas which place will be the north terminal of the route and the patrolling will be in charge of the Air Service of the United States Army. 76 Years Ago – 1929 F.W. CALDWELL was making final arrangements today for his plan to establish a deer hunting camp in Howard’s Gulch to be open during the open season, beginning September 16. The camp will be known as the Modoc Deer Camp, and the manager will provide horses, guides and other necessities. 66 Years Ago – 1939 DID YOU know that last year in Modoc County, 400 people were skin-tested for tuberculosis through the efforts of the Modoc County Tuberculosis Association? Even one active case, discovered through this testing, and kept from spreading the disease in the schools and the homes of the county, is worth thousands of dollars in health and happiness to our people. The Deputy Supervisor Brown, noted in the 1919 article, was “Billie” Brown and he was the father of our own Vernon Brown. Billie was not very large in stature but he more than made up for that by his intelligence and his dynamic personality and work ethic. He was one of my Dad’s favorite companions when it came to hunting or fishing. He brought the Modoc County Forest Service into the new era. I was just one of the 400 tested for TB in 1939. They tested just about the entire student body at the Alturas Grammar School and Modoc Union High School. If you had TB, it meant staying in a sanatorium for the most of one year, and longer in some situations. Today, antibiotics rid the body of this perilous disease. However, it was quite common and destructive prior the late 1940’s. See you all again next week. Ron Morgan