Miss Idyllwild Judy Sproul receives her crown from Miss World of 1962 Catharina Lodders of Holland (who in 1964 married Chubby Checker) at a beauty pageant held in July 1963 at Tahquitz Golf Club (now Mountain Resource Center). The woman on the left is unidentified.
Miss Idyllwild Judy Sproul receives her crown from Miss World of 1962 Catharina Lodders of Holland (who in 1964 married Chubby Checker) at a beauty pageant held in July 1963 at Tahquitz Golf Club (now Mountain Resource Center). The woman on the left is unidentified.

60 years ago - 1956

Idyllwild School registered 90 youngsters in kindergarten to seventh grades. The prior week, 290 students attended the first day of the new school year.

55 years ago - 1961

Tahquitz Lake Estates announced the opening of a tract on the Dutch Flat property and near Foster Lake. Lots were priced at $1,965.

50 years ago - 1966

Pine Cove residents, with the help of then County Supervisor Floyd McCall, were seeking state funds for a paid two-man fire department because the local tax base was insufficient to cover the projected cost of $20,000 to $25,000. Meanwhile, volunteer firefighters carried on.

45 years ago - 1971

Some local real estate being advertised: a three-bedroom home with a fireplace and large lot for $17,950; a one-room cabin with fireplace on 4.5 acres for $10,900. If you were a renter: a three-bedroom, two-bath furnished house, pets and kids OK, for $150 per month.

25 years ago - 1991

Bulldozers started tearing apart the parking lot in the center of town as work began on a commercial complex site that came to be known as “The Fort.”

20 years ago - 1996

Becky Clark, who started at the Idyllwild Town Crier as a night-shift typesetter a dozen years before, was named publisher and editor of the newspaper. She retired in November 2009. In June 2013, she and her husband Jack Clark, purchased the paper, regaining the title of editor and now co-publisher.

15  years ago - 2001

Idyllwild resident Michael Rider, professional actor and director, was directing “Romeo and Juliet,” at the Ramona Bowl. Playing the role of Lord Capulet was the late Bob Beck, local resident and longtime actor, perhaps best known for his role in commericals as the Marlboro and Camel man.

5 years ago - 2011

Thunderstorms failed to dampen the festivities of the 18th-annual Jazz in the Pines. Despite the summer outburst Saturday and light showers Sunday, visitors, volunteers and vendors all had another remarkable weekend of music and merriment.

1 year ago - 2015

The Idyllwild Historic Preservation District Review Board announced a community meeting to acquaint property owners within the district with The Mills Act. Enacted in California in 1972, it gives authority to local governments — on the Hill, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and responsible agencies — to enter into contracts with private property owners to receive tax credits of up to 50 percent each year in return for owners restoring and maintaining their historic properties.