Past Tense: May 21, 2020
70 years ago – 1950
The Town Crier, which first saw the light of day in the Maxwells’ attic, moved into the rock building at Fern Valley Corners.
65 years ago – 1955
Dispensing mountain hospitality with all modern conveniences was the new Singingwood Motel, which opened the prior week, on the Banning highway a half mile from the village.
60 years ago – 1960
Don and June Mulford, who covered almost 2,500 miles on horseback from the Mexican border to Canada, showed a movie at Town Hall of their five-month trek as a fundraiser for the Chamber of Commerce.
55 years ago – 1965
The first comprehensive guide to the San Jacinto-Santa Rosa mountain area, “Guidebook to the Sunset Ranges of Southern California,” by Russ Leadabrand, went on sale.
50 years ago – 1970
Pine Cove County Park was formally dedicated as a unit of the Riverside County Parks system.
45 years ago – 1975
Despite rain, more than 2,000 people attended the fourth-annual Idyllwild Bluegrass Festival.
40 years ago – 1980
The San Jacinto Mountain Area Water Study Agency was considering a $3 million sewer project. It would use 55,000 feet of pipeline if installed.
35 years ago – 1985
The Restaurant Gastrognome was selected as an award-winning restaurant by the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association.
30 years ago – 1990
The Rotary Club prepared for its annual Memorial Day Apfel Pfann Kuchen pancake breakfast. The recipe was kept in a safe-deposit box and would be removed and hand-carried by the bank’s guard to the event so the batter could be prepared. It would then be immediately sequestered until the next year.
25 years ago – 1995
Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi, Roshi, founder of the Zen Mountain Center in 1983, died at the age of 64. Roshi was internationally noted for his influence as a Zen master, particularly on the practice in the United States.
20 years ago – 2000
Idyllwild Garden Club board members visited Reva Ballreich’s lilac garden to view the new single blue lilac she developed and named “Idyllwild.”
15 years ago – 2005
The Hill was losing the cardboard recycling site at Community Lumber because Waste Management Inc. decided not to supply a bin for the site any longer.
10 years ago – 2010
Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce directors Mimi Lamp and Richmond Blake presented chamber President Ken Carlson with a 30-day notice of intent to expel him from Chamber membership during the chamber’s monthly meeting on Monday, May 17.
5 years ago – 2015
Pine Cover Water District moved its water conservation from stage 1 to 2, moving from voluntary conservation to mandatory due to extreme drought conditions.
1 year ago – 2019
The hours for access of Highway 74 between Mountain Center and Hemet had been extended for the Memorial Day weekend.
