60 years ago – 1952
Evie Kretsinger passed on a comment on TV: “Before the dawn of civilization, primitive man ate raw meat in dark caves and gazed at the pictographs he had painted on the walls. As man became civilized, he dined by candlelight and food became a social ritual. Now, man is right back where he started; eating in the dark and watching pictures on TV.”

55 years ago – 1957
The Idyllwild-Fern Valley area had 1,397 dwellings and other primary buildings; Pine Cove, 316; and Mountain Center, 74.

45 years ago – 1967
Edith Metcalf de Plata, mother of a Desert Sun student, wrote deploring of the appearance of young people: “I like shirts and skirts and haircuts, and to be able to see the face of the individual with whom I am talking. I like to know whether I’m talking to a girl or a boy.”

40 years ago – 1972
A fire in May Valley, 2 airline miles south of Idyllwild, burned 200 acres before it was contained. Four hundred men were on the fire line under Karl Tameler.

30 years ago – 1982
USC-Idyllwild launched an unprecedented series of night courses for the local community. Life Drawing and Native American Art History were the two classes offered the first week.

25 years ago – 1987
Smokey Bear was grand marshal of the 4th of July Parade and 16-year-old Mark Wheeler realized his dream of driving Hoffman Realty’s 1934 Ford.

20 years ago – 1992
A little over three hours apart, the Hill felt two of the strongest earthquakes in 40 years. A 7.4 hit at 4:58 a.m. and then a 6.5 at 8:05 a.m.

10 years ago – 2002
Three trucks protesting water exportation off the Hill were severely vandalized while parked overnight at the turnout where tanker trucks loaded water from Paul Black’s wells.

5 years ago – 2007
Maria Loutzenhiser accepted the keys to her new Idyllwild home constructed by community volunteers and Habitat for Humanity. Maria’s husband, Mark, a Forest Service firefighter, had begun, but not finished remodeling their home when he died in the Esperanza Fire in October 2006.

1 year ago – 2011
In a letter dated June 30, the Riverside County Economic Development Agency gave notice to Idyllwild Community Recreation Council of its intention to terminate the recreation contract on July 31.