Past Tense: August 3, 2017
70 years ago – 1947
A new telephone service was inaugurated, offering six trunk lines to Hemet.
65 years ago – 1952
Paul and Mary Gormley were manning the lookout post at Ranger Peak. During the rest of the year, the Gormleys worked as cook and butler for a family in the San Francisco area.
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The Chamber of Commerce had 368 members. Dues were $3, with business memberships at $12.
60 years ago – 1957
The sixth-annual Shakespearean Festival was held at ISOMATA (now Idyllwild Arts Academy). The drama department presented “The Taming of the Shrew.”
55 years ago – 1962
Floor was poured for a new building for Idyllwild Ice and Fuel Supply next to the post office. A cement sidewalk was added in front of the post office.
50 years ago – 1967
Camp Emerson inaugurated its new, 2-acre lake.
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A class of ISOMATA students adjourned to the Black Forest Bakery to practice bakery arts. The project involved 61 pounds of pink, green, blue and yellow cookie dough; 35 pounds of white bread dough; and unlimited imagination.
45 years ago – 1972
More than 200 friends witnessed the marriage of Millie Herbert and Ed Emmel in the Community Church.
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Town Crier carried a recipe for Hopi Piki, Indian ceremonial bread. Needed, as it turned out, was a Piki stone, which not every household had.
40 years ago – 1977
Desert Sun School had a new headmaster, Vin Skinner.
35 years ago – 1982
An Anza man, Robert McQuaery, was standing under a tree near the picnic area at Lake Hemet when a lightning bolt hit him full force in the chest. McQuaery was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.
30 years ago – 1987
The Idyllwild Arts Foundation announced a four-year, $2.6 million improvement plan.
25 years ago – 1992
Becky Chase was driving her 1976 Chevrolet on Highway 74 when it slid out of control on the rain-slicked road and tumbled down the side of an embankment. Chase thanked her seat belt for saving her life. She escaped the collision without a scrape.
20 years ago – 1997
Dave Ziegler, former manger of Jo’An’s Restaurant, led an unusual crew of people in the grand opening parade of the restaurant.
15 years ago – 2002
Members of the Queen of Angels Catholic Church marched down North Circle Drive to pray for rain.
10 years ago – 2007
A 25-year veteran tree climber lost his footing, hit his rib cage against a tree, slid 2 feet, but managed to climb the remaining 8 feet to the ground. Once his safety equipment was removed, he claimed breathing problems and couldn’t sit down. He was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
5 years ago – 2012
The Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce announced new officers for fiscal year 2012-13 at its installation dinner at the Fern Valley Inn.
1 year ago – 2016
At their July 26 meeting, commissioners for the Idyllwild Fire Protection District, in the absence of Larry Donahoo, unanimously approved a resolution to double the current $65 per-parcel unit fee to a $130 fee for all parcels.
