Past Tense: Aug. 25, 2011
55 years ago – 1956
Tahquitz Pines dedicated the new stone entrance archway at a ceremony attended by more than 100 people.
50 years ago – 1961
The county started a house numbering system for Idyllwild, Pine Cove and Mountain Center. Even numbers would be on the north and east sides of the street; odd on the south and west. Because of the sweeping pattern of Circle Drive, it was decided to divide it as north and south by Strawberry Creek.
45 years ago – 1966
Two nights a week, Welch’s Carriage Inn Restaurant was serving dinner, including coffee, for a dollar. On Wednesday, diners got spaghetti with bread and a salad. On Friday it was the fish and chips plate.
40 years ago – 1971
New construction in the community climbed to its highest point in over year, when 86 permits were issued in July.
35 years ago – 1976
Queen of Angels Catholic Church replaced its plain windows with stained glass windows that the Mountain Tiffany Shop created.
30 years ago – 1981
According to Bureau of Census preliminary figures, the population of the mountain area, including Idyllwild, Pine Cove, Mountain Center, Garner Valley, Anza, Aguanga and Terwilliger, was 5,953 — a 95 percent increase from 1970.
25 years ago – 1986
For the first time since it opened in 1950, ISOMATA (now Idyllwild Arts Academy) announced that it would become a year-round school in September, with nearly 80 students enrolled in grades 8 through 12.
20 years ago – 1991
Idyllwild has always liked to host music festivals. In 1991 it was the Mountain Acoustics Music Festival, which more than 250 people attended.
15 years ago – 1996
A third venue, the French Quarter, debuted at the Third Annual Jazz in the Pines festival.
10 years ago – 2001
Dr. Norman Mellor, then 85, was honored for teaching scouts at Camp Emerson for the 64th year. He first came to the camp as a scout in 1929. Mellor was the author of a book titled “Camp Emerson — an Incomplete History,” published in 1994.
5 years ago – 2006
The Idyllwild Pharmacy, which opened in 1977, filled its 500,000th prescription.
1 year ago – 2010
Visitors and locals attended the 17th Annual Jazz in the Pines festival, the last one at which Idyllwild Arts (IA) instructor Marshall Hawkins would serve as music director. The first IA jazz festival in 1994, for which Hawkins booked the acts, was just a half-day event with an $18 admission charge.
