A Chef in the Forest ad published in the Town Crier April 1, 1966. Read more about the role the restaurant played in Idyllwild’s history in Robert Smith’s column on page 7.
65 years ago – 1948
Chess and bridge were favorite features of evenings at Idyllwild Inn.

60 years ago – 1953
Nearly 30 members had signed up for the newly organized Rifle and Pistol Club sponsored by the American Legion Post 800.

55 years ago – 1958
The Sikkings were about to open their new shop called The Grey Squirrel, featuring ceramics made in their studio.

50 years ago – 1963
The biggest social event of the season was the opening of the Tirol Restaurant. Two hundred guests were present for the event.

45 years ago – 1968
Idyllwild real estate brokers agreed not to post “For Sale” signs on property they were handling.

40 years ago – 1973
The Fern Valley Corners Restaurant offered a breakfast of three buttermilk hotcakes and two eggs for 69 cents.

35 years ago – 1978
Traces of bubonic plague were found in the Dark Canyon campground. The area was quarantined by U.S. Department of Health officials while animal burrows were treated with pesticides to kill infected fleas.

30 years ago – 1983
The Easter Bunny would be the grand marshal of the Idyllwild Easter Parade sponsored by the Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce.

25 years ago – 1988
An unusually warm and dry winter prompted fire officials to open fire season 45 days early.

20 years ago – 1993
A snowstorm interrupted work on the Strawberry Creek Bridge replacement project.

15 years ago – 1998
Two Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) members, Lee Arnson and Bob Baker, were awarded the Medal of Valor for bravery and heroism by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department. They had risked their lives to save another rescue worker who had been severely injured after falling 1,000 feet down a steep, icy slope.

10 years ago – 2003
Town Crier columnist Bill Lumsden was memorialized in a new book. A collection of his essays and other works was released in a book titled “Natura Doceri.” Proceeds from the sale of it would go to the Idyllwild Scholarship Fund.

5 years ago – 2008
Policy changes by national insurer Allstate were causing some problems for local homeowners.

1 year ago – 2012
A sheriff’s raid at a home on Highway 243 near Idyllwild School netted two drug related arrests.

Similar Posts

  • Past Tense: September 11, 2014

    65 years ago – 1949 Dorothy Lewis was back from a visit to Bamako, Republic of Mali, Africa, where her son was working.   60 years ago – 1954 A power blackout over the holiday weekend lasted from 1:35 p.m. Saturday to 12:05 a.m. Sunday. Gasoline pumps wouldn’t work and the Rustic Theatre had to…

  • Past Tense – Nov. 7, 2013

      65 years ago – 1948 Halloween passed without a major mishap. One prankster painted white ribs on all the horses at the stables.   60 years ago – 1953 In the first official survey of bighorn sheep in the mountains, 141 were observed.   55 years ago – 1958 Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Carman…

  • |

    Past Tense: April 11, 2019

    70 years ago – 1949 More tracks of the mountain lion previously sighted around Ernie Maxwell’s cabin were spotted. The visitor seemed to be more curious than hungry. 65 years ago – 1954 Oscar Lawler, prominent Los Angeles attorney, donated his 80-acre estate in the Dark Canyon area to the county. The donation was made…

  • Past Tense: June 25, 2015

    65 years ago – 1950 Cliff Campbell was running trail rides into the back country from his corrals at the Idyllwild Dairy. 60 years ago – 1955 Representatives of major conservation organizations met at Bowman Arts Center for the third-annual conservation conference. 55 years ago – 1960 General building contractor William J. Burke advertised a…

  • Past Tense: July 5, 2012

    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…

  • Past Tense: Feb. 6, 2014

    65 years ago – 1949 The “Year of the Big Snow” continued; the chapel at Idyllwild Pines collapsed under the load and icicles hung from roofs in solid sheets. 60 years ago – 1954 Several huge crates arrived at the County Park. They contained the prefab makings of a 30-foot observation tower. 55 years ago…