Looking Back is a regular feature of the Modoc Record, a weekly newspaper, published in
Alturas, California. The following is transcribed from the June 5, 2008 issue
This is posted on behalf of our own Ronald Morgan, Retired.
Looking Back
114 Years Ago – 1894
OUR CROPS ARE SUFFERING and the puny rain that fell the first of the week did little to
eliminate the suffering… A match game of baseball for $200.00 a side between the picked
nines of Alturas and Cedarville is now talked of for the 24th of June… Vern Arbogast took
a drummer to Cedarville last week and had quite a smash up. Going down a pitch in the
canyon about three miles from Cedarville, the neck yoke leather broke and the team ran
away. The pole struck into the bank and the wagon went over and smashing the top all to
pieces and breaking the tongue off… Two men staked out in the Alturas Hotel this week in a
card game with some of the local fellows and began boasting now tough they were. One of
the boys said he would draw his .38 pistol and walk over to the bank and relieve it of its
contents. Phil Ostrom said to the guy that he didn’t have enough fiber to do it and when
the tough leveled at him, Mr. Ostrom smashed him a good lick in the nose and that ended
the bank robbery treat in Alturas.
94 Years Ago – 1914
GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENTS: by the county board of eductions included the following: Red
Sher – Edgar Potter; Hopewell – Ernest Archer; Chance – Victor Cantrall, Gene Cantrall;
Jess Valley – Laurence Cantrall, Warren Cantrall; South Fork – Anthony McGarva; Clover
Swale – Amidol Kelley, Mark Kelley, Ellis Locy; Eagleville – Mable Dorton – Ethel Powers,
William Brown, Leslie Thayer, Harold Powers; Mount Bidwell – Phyllis Peterson, Harry
Schadler, Aaron Smith, Hazel Dronbrey, Grace Maupin, Oliver Crist, Clara Sweeney, Selma
Santiago, Maryon Monoe; Adin – Frank Harbert, Mabel Hess, Fern Harbert, Hattie Nickerson,
Irene Harris, Henry Harvey, John Van Roper; Bid Valley – Rosa Caska; Modoc – Alda Kaper;
Arlington – Eleanor Caldwell; Little Valley – Revona Heryford; Nevada – Kirk Williams,
Maude Wolfe; Davis Creek – Mary Longwell, Clora Easton; S. Davis Creek – Jane Henderson;
State Line – Nita Northrop; Cedarville – Ross Anderson, Anita Garrett, William Phillips;
Washington – Leslie Dusta, Della Hobbs; Lake City – Clifton Howard, Gerald Wilson.
74 Years Ago – 1934
IT HAS been 50 years since rains as heavy as those that fell on Alturas have been
deposited. The is good because it has been more than 50 years since a drought as bad as
outs has visited the Alturas area… The Alturas Tigers finally won a baseball game this
season when they defeated Willow Ranch 7-5 Sunday. Alturas players this year are Don
Rachford, Milan Briles, Dallas Dodge, Dud McGrath, Harry Flournoy, John Flournoy, Stan
Decious, Pete Blurton and Chase Crowder. Vern Renshaw is manager… New Chevrolets have been
drastically reduced.
~~~~~~
Billie C. & Anita 'Jean' Reynolds
---
Family Researcher of "The Last Frontier"
Modoc County, California