Deer hunters register at Little Thomas Truck Road in about 1966. File photo
Deer hunters register at Little Thomas Truck Road in about 1966.
File photo

65 years ago - 1950

County road crews were widening Circle Drive so snow could be pushed back further.

 

60 years ago - 1955

Locals were told to “stop shoveling and enjoy it” on Idyllwild sledding day at the Halona Lodge hill.

 

55 years ago - 1960

The Lionss Club unfurled its new American flag, believed to be the first flag on the Hill to show all 50 stars.

 

50 years ago - 1965

Work started on a new tract, divided into 24 lots, located at Tollgate and Canyon Drive. The parcel of land had been owned by former residents Admiral and Mrs. John McKinney and at one time was part of the old Idyllwild golf course.

 

45 years ago - 1970

Locals were invited to watch the color TV at Welch’s Carriage Inn to see Jon Gnagy, known as America’s television art teacher, give painting lessons. Gnagy was an Idyllwild resident.

 

40 years ago - 1975

A children’s playground was installed in a corner of Eleanor Park by a crew of volunteers.

 

35 years ago - 1980

The Goldfarbs were getting ready for a slew of family celebrations with three members having birthdays, including Mel on Jan. 31. Also, Mel and Dottie would celebrate their wedding anniversary on Feb. 8.

 

30 years ago - 1985

For a dollar at Fairway Supermarket shoppers could choose 5 pounds of bananas, 4 pounds of carrots, or 6 pounds of onions.

 

25 years ago - 1990

On the way back to Idyllwild after rescuing two men stranded overnight on Santa Rosa Peak after their car slid off Highway 74 near Pinyon, Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit team members came across a snow-covered, seemingly abandoned car with emergency lights flashing. Upon investigation, the RMRU team found two men who had run out of gas eight hours earlier in the first stages of hypothermia.

 

20 years ago - 1995

Idyllwild Water District was trying to locate the source of an enormous water loss of about 50 gallons per minute. Residents were helping out by calling in found leaks, but the big one was still to be discovered.

 

15 years ago - 2000

Idyllwild’s history came alive at Idyllwild Arts Academy when a panel of long-time Hill residents shared their memories of the early days of Idyllwild. Some of the long-timers who spoke at the Idyllwild History Alive II event were Pat Boss, Bud Hunt, Mary Sigworth, Mary Arnaiz, Keith Froehlich, Sparky Allert and George Kretsinger.

 

10 years ago - 2005

Idyllwild Community Recreation Council director Pete Capparelli and county officials discussed ICRC taking over management of Idyllwild recreation activities from the Chamber of Commerce.

 

5 years ago - 2010

Rain, snow and wind all visited the Hill the prior week.  A power outage occurred, but residents incurred minimal suffering compared to the December 2008 storm.  By the weekend, visitors from the desert, Hemet and Temecula were winding their way here to play in the local winter wonderland.

 

1 year ago - 2014

The number of confirmed influenza-related deaths in California doubled the prior week. During the week ending Jan. 18, 50 more people under age 65 died from influenza, for a total of 95 confirmed flu deaths that flu season, including three children.