Past Tense: August 11, 2016
65 years ago – 1951
The wild turkeys turned loose on the Wellman ranch were doing well and reproducing as hoped.
60 years ago – 1956
The annual Chuckwagon Dinner for the benefit of Town Hall netted almost $500.
55 years ago – 1961
Construction of a clubhouse at Tahquitz Lake Golf Course was nearly completed.
50 years ago – 1966
Idyllwild resident and actress Marjorie Main, best known for her role as Ma Kettle in the series of Ma and Pa Kettle films, was named to head the local Red Cross drive.
45 years ago – 1971
Redistricting resulted in the mountain area being moved from the 5th to the 3rd Supervisory District.
35 years ago – 1981
A desire for controlled growth in Idyllwild was evident when about 80 residents gathered at Town Hall to learn how the Hill would be affected by Riverside County’s revised general plan.
30 years ago – 1986
After serving as president of the Izaak Walton League’s local chapter for nearly 30 years, founder Ernie Maxwell turned the gavel over to Ray Williams. Meantime, the Ikes were opposing a proposed 50-mile car rally over the Thomas Mountain-Rouse Ridge range.
25 years ago – 1991
Dwight “Buzz” Holmes resigned from the governing board of Hemet Unified School District to seek employment as a music teacher at Idyllwild School.
20 years ago – 1996
Reducing class size was on the agenda for Hemet Unified School District, which planned to reduce student population in its first-, second- and third-grade classes.
15 years ago – 2001
Idyllwild Fire Protection District President Glen McWilliams cast the tie-breaking vote in an IFPD board decision to contract with Riverside County to provide dispatch services for Idyllwild Fire.
10 years ago – 2006
Idyllwild’s beloved Tree Monument, carved by Jonathan LaBenne in 1989 from a 400-foot tree donated by Pearson Wood Service, was dismantled. It became unstable due to climate- and woodpecker-inflicted damage. Sections owere later sold to bidders to raise money for a new monument.
5 years ago – 2011
Idyllwild Community Recreation Council (ICRC) President Dawn Sonnier’s vision for a state-of-the-art playground for the Idyllwild Community Center (ICC) property was on the fast track for county approval.
1 year ago – 2015
Fire crews contained the 543-acre Anza Fire, which began after a motor home caught fire on the roadside of Highway 74, 3 miles east of Highway 371. Six to 10 homes on Hialeah Way were ordered evacuated and three firefighters suffered minor injuries.
