Past Tense: October 26, 2017
70 years ago – 1947
Town Crier wound up its first year of publication, written, mimeographed and mailed from the Maxwell home. News was brought right to the front door as the Maxwells did not have a telephone.
65 years ago – 1952
Disaster struck an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. James Bowlin, when their Thomas Mountain cabin burned to the ground. But friends and neighbors quickly rallied to donate shelter, furnishings and clothing. Volunteers turned out to rebuild the couple’s home.
60 years ago – 1957
Town Crier real estate ads offered “View Lots, $200,” “Large Wooded Estates, $1,995,” and a “Partly furnished cabin on Strawberry Creek, $4,500.”
55 years ago – 1962
Hill folk were urged to come to the Sabin polio vaccine clinic to get one of those miraculous cubes of sugar.
50 years ago – 1967
Chuck Muir, Hemet High senior, was named football lineman of the week at school.
45 years ago – 1972
The Grey Squirrel, previously a fixture in Fern Valley Corners, moved to a new building in downtown Idyllwild. Inez Johnson, proprietor, posted an apologetic sign: BPWUWNFY. Translation: “Be patient with us; we’re not finished yet.”
40 years ago – 1977
A $30,000 chlorinator was added to the Fern Valley Water District system. Gill Johnson, general manager, said the chlorine would not affect the water’s taste.
35 years ago – 1982
America’s Cleanest Forest was a lot cleaner thanks to Desert Sun School students and faculty. They worked together to pick up more than 100 bags of trash on Saunders Meadow Road.
30 years ago – 1987
More than 250 parents turned out for Parents Day at Elliott-Pope and ISOMATA. The activities included a mini-class schedule, performances of the musical “Cole,” and a music and dance recital.
25 years ago – 1992
A Town Crier three-part series examining the Hemet Unified School District showed HUSD in desperate need of funds to build schools for the 40-percent of students being taught in portable clasrooms.
20 years ago – 1997
The Hemet Unified School District was debating protecting gay students from discrimination and harassment on campus. When asked their opinion by the Town Crier for the “Town Talk” column, all four interviewees said they supported the idea.
15 years ago – 2002
Almost 400 signatures were collected by The Citizens Committee on Unification in support of the idea of creating one governing body for the three water districts on the Hill.
10 years ago – 2007
Caltrans began a $763,000 street-widening project around the dangerous horseshoe curve in Mountain Center on Highway 243 near Highway 74.
• • •
Erratic Santa Ana winds punished Hill residents and visitors. Several trees were downed, knocking out power and closing many streets in town.
5 years ago – 2012
At the age of 97, Dot Lewis was recognized for her work as a pilot during World War II. Motivated to become a pilot after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Lewis became one of the few women pilots of her time.
1 year ago – 2016
Idyllwild honored the memory of the five Esperanza firefighters the deadly wildfire took on its 10-year anniversary at the site in Twin Pines.
