The Idyllwild Harvest Festival has always offered unique and one-of a-kind gifts as seen here in this November 1972 photo featuring pastry plaques. This year marks the Idyllwild Rotary Club’s 44th festival. The festival will be at Town Hall Friday, Nov. 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. File photo
65 years ago – 1946
Mrs. Huston at the Cedars Cafe in Fern Valley beside Strawberry Creek advertised that she wanted to trade a lawn mower for snowshoes.

• • •

At Sanborn’s Market in the village, coffee was selling for 35¢ a pound, 5 pounds of potatoes was 19¢ and short ribs were 29¢ a pound.

60 years ago – 1951
Television was coming to the Hill, and folks were not attending meetings as they had been. Jay Gifford, civic worker, commented at the Log Cabin, “It’s gotten that I’m afraid not to go to meetings in the evening for fear they’ll say, ‘Oh, he got television!’”

55 years ago – 1956
Members of the government class at Desert Sun School journeyed to the Hollywood Bowl to hear President Eisenhower speak.

50 years ago – 1961
Members of the new board named Clarence Bischof president of the Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce.

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A troupe from Mirisch Pictures ended an extensive stay here while they filmed the Elvis Presley film “Kid Galahad.” There had been minor weather problems but a film spokesman commented, “We have to expect some problems when we shoot summer stories in the fall or winter.”

45 years ago – 1966
Riverside County closed its local building office because of low construction in the area.

40 years ago – 1971
Not known to be fond of cats and dogs, Emax nevertheless declared that at Thanksgiving this year he was grateful for cats because they killed rats.

35 years ago – 1976
Ex-Idyllwilder Peggy Dobler came up for a Town Crier autograph party celebrating publication of her poetry book, “Sincerely Peg.”

30 years ago – 1981
The $3.2 million Idyllwild-area sewer project came one step closer to reality when local water officials voted to put up money for launching the project’s design phase.

25 years ago – 1986
Eminent domain was officially dropped from the proposed Idyllwild Redevelopment Plan because of opposition voiced at a Town Hall meeting.

• • •

The drilling of a horizontal well in Pine Cove was approved by the Pine Cove County Water District board.

20 years ago – 1991
The season’s first snow on Thanksgiving Friday caused 16 vehicle collisions.

15 years ago – 1996
Mt. San Jacinto College was going to offer 16 classes on a variety of topics, from algebra to English, at the Idyllwild-Pine Cove Community Center.

10 years ago – 2001
A missing local teen was found buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area of Pine Cove.

1 year ago – 2010
The Hemet High School Girls’ Volleyball team won the new California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division 4A championship. The Hemet girls defeated the Upland Church Academy in three very close games.

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