Before Our Time: Idyllwild’s SMASH! …
With playground construction underway at our future community center, it’s appropriate to recall the Wright family compound that occupied the site for more than...
Before our time: Libraries in Idyllwild: past and present …
Like a growing number of Hill residents, I’ve been spending more time lately at our public library. Its move to Strawberry Plaza in 2012...
Before Our Time: Strawberry Plaza’s birth was controversial …
I appreciate the walkable convenience of one-stop shopping at the post office, food markets, bank, pharmacy and library, all situated in and around Strawberry...
Before Our Time: The Chef in the Forest …
A Minnesota reader, fondly recalling childhood vacations here, recently sparked my curiosity about one of Idyllwild’s more outlandish characters. In January 1966, Warren Jacober...
Before Our Time: Sometimes history needs correcting …
Fifteen years ago this month, a group of local residents created the Idyllwild Area Historical Society, dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing evidence of...
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...
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: 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: Another Mountain Center Fire — 1943 …
The fire erupted unseen in dried-out brush, and wind drove it through Mountain Center before the first fire crew arrived. As flames raced down...
Before Our Time: Drought is nothing new here …
“O, sunset land! O, sunset land!
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the plain,
And wonder will it ever rain.”
Thus did J.P....