Past Tense: March 1, 2018
file photo
70 years ago – 1948
With the Southern California Council of Camera Clubs about to visit the Hill, local folk were urged to look as “mountainy and picturesque” as possible.
65 years ago – 1953
Dan Slanker, founder of the local American Legion Post 800 in 1948, was honored at Hillbilly Lodge by fellow members.
60 years ago – 1958
“Here’s Opportunity,” read a Town Crier classified that advertised a “small beat-up cabin” on over an acre of land for $3,750.
55 years ago – 1963
Idyllwild’s community Christmas tree succumbed to fir beetles and had to be removed.
50 years ago – 1968
The ISOMATA (now Idyllwild Arts Academy) Festival Choir gave a free public concert and donated $1,000 toward building a rehearsal hall on the campus.
45 years ago – 1973
Forty volunteers braved wind and rain, planting 3,000 seedlings to reforest a portion of the Vista burn.
40 years ago – 1978
Census takers queried area residents in an attempt to count dwellings and people living in Idyllwild, Pine Cove and Mountain Center.
35 years ago – 1983
Idyllwild Elementary School kindergarten teacher Martha Reiman was recognized as a “Rock & Pillar of the Community” by the Idyllwild Rotary Club.
30 years ago – 1988
A plan of operation for the proposed Idyllwild area emergency radio station was released.
25 years ago – 1993
The Hill was drenched again when a weekend storm brought about 4 inches of rain and 4 inches of snow. The season, being dubbed as “the wet winter of 1992-93,” had already brought more than 43 inches of moisture.
20 years ago – 1998
Laughter filled the packed Idyllwild Pizza Company as fans welcomed another season of comedy to the Hill. The program featured entertainers Cindy Eaton and Fred Greenlee.
15 years ago – 2003
The Chamber of Commerce and the Idyllwild Community Recreation Council brought a request to Idyllwild Water District to restore Dutch Flats for softball games.
10 years ago – 2008
“A Colored Life: The Herb Jeffries Story,” a documentary about Herb Jeffries’ career, premiered at the Rustic Theatre.
5 years ago – 2013
On Wednesday, Feb. 20, the day the jury trial was to have commenced, Ron Kimmerle, 49, and Taylor Dravenstatt, 20, both of Idyllwild, entered guilty pleas to single counts of felony burglary, were convicted and were formally sentenced to four years in state prison.
1 year ago – 2017
The Idyllwild Indivisible’s use of St. Hugh’s Episcopal Church had generated a local brouhaha.
