Before Our Time: You don’t have to live in Idyllwild to leave your mark...
Some 32 summer camps have now been documented in the Idyllwild area since 1920. But Idyllwild Institute-Fiesta stands out for its oddly nondescript name.
This...
Before Our Time: Idyllwild furniture …
Between 1925 and 1960, Idyllwild became widely known as a center for the manufacture of craftsman-style furniture.
Hal Holcomb, “the Rustic Man,” started it...
Before Our Time: Before Kwikset came
You can’t commute from Fern Valley or walk about town these mild summer mornings for very long without noticing the seemingly abandoned scatter of...
Before Our Time: Before the Creekstone Inn? Food …
The Creekstone Inn has dominated the four-way stop called Fern Valley Corners since 1947; but its current identity, as Chris Singer’s elegant, 20-year-old tourist...
Before our Time: Nostalgic for snow storms?
When snow is as scarce as it’s been for the past 20 months, long-time Hill residents begin to pine for those old-time storms, “when...
Before our time: Lawler Lodge …
Lawler Lodge, on Highway 243 in Dark Canyon, is one of the more obscure landmarks in our mountains. Its namesake, however, was anything but...
Before Our Time: Memories of Keen Camp and Tahquitz Lodge …
Our beloved Strawberry Valley hasn’t always been the main tourist attraction in the San Jacinto Mountains. Between 1915 and 1924, the Idyllwild Inn had...
Before Our Time: Fore! BeFore! …
Brendan Steele’s recent success has made golf newsworthy in Idyllwild once again. News media around the country love to highlight the odd fact that...
Before Our Time: How communities evolve
The current ferment about where and how to manage public recreation in Idyllwild calls to mind a place where Hill folk gathered for...
Before Our Time: Resident-friendly development of Idyllwild …
As Idyllwild took shape and acquired its unique culture between 1920 and 1960, three developers played central roles. Two are well-known.
Claudius Lee Emerson controlled...