Past Tense: June 15, 2017
file photo
65 years ago – 1952
MGM was filming “Desperate Search” around Lake Hemet, starring Jane Greer, Howard Keel and Keenan Wynn. The company headquartered at the Idyllwild Inn.
60 years ago – 1957
Camping limits were put on state and county campgrounds in Idyllwild due to the increasing number of visitors.
55 years ago – 1962
Idyllwild voted in favor of school bonds, but the issue didn’t pass, regardless. About 85 percent of the registered voters on the Hill turned out for the elections. Nixon received 222 votes for governor, Brown followed with 115.
• • •
The Alpine Pantry opened in the remodeled Fern Valley Market building. Jan Oates was manager and Ruby Cooper presided in the kitchen.
50 years ago – 1967
County supervisors voted to ban burning in the county except by special permit.
45 years ago – 1972
George McGovern, Clayton Record, Craig Biddle and Don Kenny led the race in Riverside County voting in the primary election. Eighteen-year-olds voted for the first time.
40 years ago – 1977
The San Jacinto Mountain Area Water Study Agency was told that raw water counts at the Idyllwild intake of Strawberry Creek indicated that human waste exceeded the acceptable level. That was one of the preliminary facts revealed by Peter Poutney, project engineer from Hirsch & Co., the San Diego-based firm that studied mountain wastewater treatment.
• • •
Doug Hamilton and Richard Montano, both of Idyllwild, worked independently and together to try to save a disintegrating film of the mountain community’s early days. The silent movie of Idyllwild in the 1920s was dying of old age since it was printed on nitrate film stock.
35 years ago – 1982
A 63-year-old Korean woman died from heart failure triggered by snake-venom poisoning she received while walking near Lake Alandale. It was believed she was bitten by a Western rattlesnake.
30 years ago – 1987
An appeal to use the old fire station building in Idyllwild for commercial uses was rejected by the Riverside County Planning Commission because of inadequate parking.
25 years ago – 1992
Misuse was causing problems with the automated recycling machines at the Village Market.
20 years ago – 1997
County supervisors set aside $25,000 to promote Idyllwild. They specified that the money should go into a new joint venture between the Idyllwild and Hemet chambers of commerce.
15 years ago – 2002
Special fund-raising efforts by Warner Skiles raised $3,000 for WNKI 1610-AM.
10 years ago – 2007
The U.S. Forest Service announced that Station 53 in Anza would close temporarily.
5 years ago – 2012
Constructing the long-planned $100,000 Idyllwild Community Playground began Wednesday, June 13, and continued through Sunday, June 17.
1 year ago – 2016
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake occurred about 1:05 a.m. Friday, 13 miles north of Borrego Springs and 18 miles south of Palm Desert. The quake was easily felt on the Hill. A 3.5-magnitude quake in the same area followed about 1:33 a.m.
