Past Tense: March 16, 2017
65 years ago – 1952
Dr. M.M. Null announced that he had hundreds of small sequoias to be given to residents and property owners free of charge. The little redwoods were grown for planting in the community.
60 years ago – 1957
Clarence Bischof purchased the San Jacinto Lumber Yard.
55 years ago – 1962
Paramount Picture’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” starring Audrey Hepburn, was showing at the Rustic Theatre.
50 years ago – 1967
A weekend storm brought 4 inches of snow — the first moisture in more than a month.
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Pine Cove’s fire company was proud of its newly acquired Seagrave pumper, capacity 180 gallons per minute.
45 years ago – 1972
In a meeting of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District’s Board of Commissioners, a citizens’ group concerned with rising costs and high taxes raised the question of transferring local fire protection to the county.
40 years ago – 1977
Ward Johnson made the trip from Idyllwild to San Jacinto and back to Idyllwild, all on a bicycle.
35 years ago – 1982
Volunteers from the California Conservation Corps and the Idyllwild Izaak Walton League planted about 750 oak seedlings in the Mountain Center burn area. Under the direction of Tom Roberts of the U.S. Forest Service, the volunteers planted several groves of canyon and black oaks.
30 years ago – 1987
Idyllwild resident Glen “Mac” McWilliams, a 25-year veteran with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, was promoted to a new position in the Youth Evaluation Service.
15 years ago – 2002
Construction at Idyll-wild School came to a stand still after the Hemet Unified School District Governing Board of Trustees fired the project’s general contractor, Old Hickory Construction, accusing the firm of inadequate progress and failing to pay its subcontractors.
10 years ago – 2007
St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated at the American Legion Post 800 with a corned beef and cabbage dinner.
5 years ago – 2012
An escalation of local crime led the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to schedule a community meeting.
1 year ago – 2016
The Idyllwild School Youth Grantmakers awarded $3,000 to three separate groups. It was the fourth-consecutive year that a group of students made philanthropic decisions to the benefit of the community and student life.
