Past Tense: Sept. 1, 2011

50 years ago – 1961
Tahquitz Lake Estates announced the opening of a tract on the Dutch Flat property and near Foster Lake. Lots were priced at $1,965.

45 years ago – 1966
Pine Cove residents, with the help of then County Supervisor Floyd McCall, were seeking state funds to fund a paid two-man fire department because the local tax base was insufficient to cover the projected cost of $20,000 to $25,000. Meanwhile, volunteer firefighters carried on.

40 years ago – 1971
Some local real estate being advertised: A 3-bedroom home with a fireplace and large lot for $17,950; a one-room cabin with fireplace on 4.5 acres for $10,900. If you were a renter: A 3-bedroom, 2-bath furnished house, pets and kids OK, for $150 per month.

35 years ago – 1976
Idyllwild had a new church group when the Chapel in the Pines Christian Fellowship started holding services at Idyllwild Pines Camp. Chapel in the Pines is now headquartered in Mountain Center.

30 years ago – 1981
The Center Fire in Mountain Center jumped back and forth across Highway 74 many times, threatening more than a dozen local homes and businesses. Eventually, it destroyed over 1,700 acres and cost a million dollars to suppress. Investigators blamed the fire on a boy playing with matches.

25 years ago – 1986
About 450 people attended the 10th-annual Garner Valley Volunteer Fire Company 53 Barbecue.

20 years ago – 1991
Bulldozers started tearing apart the parking lot in the center of town as work began on a commercial complex site that came to be known as “The Fort.”

15 years ago – 1996
Becky Clark, who started at the Idyllwild Town Crier as a night shift typesetter a dozen years before, was named publisher and editor of the newspaper. She retired in November 2009.

10 years ago – 2001
Idyllwild resident Michael Rider, professional actor and director, was directing “Romeo and Juliet,” at the Ramona Bowl. Playing the role of Lord Capulet was the late Bob Beck, local resident and longtime actor, perhaps best known for his role in commericals as the Marlboro and Camel man.

5 years ago – 2006
Over the course of a week, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department removed more than 20,000 marijuana plants from the local mountains. The market value was estimated between $40 million to $100 million.

1 year ago – 2010
Garratt Aitchison, superintendent of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park, announced that local resident Robert Peek had accepted a ranger position for Idyllwild and Stone Creek.