Past Tense – December 26, 2013
File photo
65 years ago – 1948
Not a single crack appeared in the rock work of Fern Valley Market, despite a terrific shaking in the earth. Town Crier declared it was a tribute to Bill Jolley’s skill as a stonemason.
60 years ago – 1953
Someone dropped off a load of pitch-gooey pine for Mr. Gruey’s milk goats to chomp on.
55 years ago – 1958
Barbara Bratton, 17, was named Miss Hemet. She was the first Idyllwild girl to win the title.
50 years ago – 1963
The state park was officially designated as a wilderness park by the State Park Commission.
45 years ago – 1968
Another effort was being made to get the Banning-Idyllwild Highway into the state scenic highway system.
40 years ago – 1973
A plane was thought to have crashed in May Valley, but after a thorough search by the Forest Service, no wreckage was found. It was surmised that a meteor may have crashed somewhere on the mountain.
35 years ago – 1978
It was a white Christmas for mountain-area residents as a cold front dumped more than 10 inches of snow just in time for the holidays.
30 years ago – 1983
A Holiday Mixer sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce was held for local business people and members of the community to get acquainted.
25 years ago – 1988
The Rustic Theatre received a two-year waiver of a county ordinance requiring it to have 84 parking spaces.
20 years ago – 1993
Participants in the annual Idyllwild Audubon Christmas Bird Count were down. Only 20 people showed up to count.
15 years ago – 1998
Through the help of a national insurance company, Pine Cove Fire Department received cardiac fibrillators for all three of its response units.
10 years ago – 2003
The Mountain Resource Conservancy was threatening the Pine Cove Water District with legal action over Lilly Creek water usage.
5 years ago – 2008
Last week was cold, wet and treacherous. Idyllwild Fire Department recorded 21 inches of snow from Monday, Dec. 15, through Thursday, Dec. 18, the second-largest December snowfall since 1947.
1 year ago – 2012
Idyllwild residents saw residential property crimes continue to spike through much of 2012. The trend put 2012 on track to approach more than 90 felony property crimes for the year, dramatically raising levels that had begun to grow three years earlier.
