Foster Lake when full with Marion Mountain in the background. It’s been many years since the lake contained more than a puddle.Photo by Jim Nessheim
Foster Lake when full with Marion Mountain in the background. It’s been many years since the lake contained more than a puddle. Photo by Jim Nessheim

65 years ago - 1950

Plans for state riding and hiking trails received a boost when portions of the local trail system were inspected and found to be favorable.

60 years ago - 1955

Desert Sun School over Saunders Meadow Way reopened with one of the largest enrollments in its history.

55 years ago - 1960

It was proven that desert bighorn sheep inhabited the region surrounding the Banning-Idyllwild highway when a young ram almost blocked highway traffic.

50 years ago - 1965

Formation of the Pine Cove Property Owner’s Association was underway. The rapid growth of Pine Cove required the community to consider planning, zoning, fire protection, property evaluation and water development.

 

45 years ago - 1970

Eleanor and Jim Johnson decided to waive deed restrictions on the parcel of land purchased by the Idyllwild Fire Protection District in 1967, so that a new fire department and emergency first aid hospital could be erected.

40 years ago - 1975

The fifth Bluegrass Invitational in Idyllwild was a big success. More than 2,000 music fans attended and total gross receipts were estimated to be about $4,700.

35 years ago - 1980

The Idyllwild School bus, carrying 52 students from Hemet High School to Idyllwild, was struck head-on by another vehicle. The driver of the vehicle and her son were taken to the hospital. The school children were transferred to another bus that brought them up the Hill.

30 years ago - 1985

William Lowman, Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA) executive director, made the announcement during an address on “The Next Five Years at ISOMATA” that the school would soon become the first private residential high school for the arts in the western United States.

25 years ago - 1990

The Idyllwild School music program was expanding. Eleven advanced instrumentalists began participating in a newly-created jazz band.

20 years ago - 1995

A rock climber who was “free climbing” survived a 200-foot fall and a Marine Corps helicopter ferried him from the wilderness at the base of Tahquitz Peak.

15 years ago - 2000

Students, parents, teachers and dignitaries were on hand as Idyllwild School had its ground-breaking ceremony for the new school addition, 100 percent funded by Proposition 1-A, the state school facilities program.

10 years ago - 2005

The film “18 minutes” by Alexis Echavarria, late Idyllwild Arts Moving Pictures major, was screened at the 11th-annual Palm Springs International Film Festival of Short Films. It was the first IA film to be so honored.

5 years ago - 2010

Marsha Lytle, former principal and lifelong jazz aficionado, was to be the next jazz fest chair. Planning the 18th-annual Jazz in the Pines had already begun, she said, although the 17th-annual Jazz in the Pines, a fundraising event for student scholarships at Idyllwild Arts, was only a month ago.

1 year ago - 2014

As October arrived, the expectation of Santa Ana winds — powerful, hot, dry winds that can turn a spark into a wildfire — rose throughout Southern California and especially on the Hill. A collaboration among the U.S. Forest Service, San Diego Gas and Electric, and UCLA produced an index to classify the potential fire threat of these winds.