Rick Barker, much-loved Idyllwild author and community volunteer, served on the Idyllwild Community Center board and was an advocate for the Idyllwild Dog Park, now under ICC management. Preston Sparks, local actor, craftsman and community volunteer, recently installed a memorial bench he created to honor Barker, who died this year on Jan. 20. Sparks said…

This year marks the 116th anniversary of probably the most famous Christmas newspaper editorial of all time. It was written by Francis P. Church in response to a letter from 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon. It was published on Sept. 21, 1897, in the New York Sun. We reprint it each year for the enjoyment of our…

For 11 years, Kathy Wilson’s Idyllwild Ghost Town has frightened and delighted fans of the phantasmagorical from on and off the Hill.  Now, year 12 is in doubt. Wilson’s month-long Halloween attraction, a walk through live action and animatronic spook fest, had firmly established itself as a major audience draw at the Idyllwild Community Center…