70 years ago – 1950
A new attraction at the Labor Day carnival was Zeke’s hayride. A team of six horses pulled the wagon and took children on free rides.
65 years ago – 1955
After a cool summer, September arrived with a blazing 96 degrees.
60 years ago – 1960
Joe and Leona McGaugh sold the Idyllwild Dairy to Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Casey, who had purchased Hidden Lodge earlier in the year.
55 years ago – 1965
The U.S. Forest Service estimated that there were 48,000 visitors to the Hill area over the Labor Day weekend. Campers were chilly when the nighttime temperature dropped to 28 degrees.
50 years ago – 1970
More than 1,000 music lovers were on hand at the rededication, after 18 years of disuse, of the Atwater Kent Bowl at ISOMATA (now Idyllwild Arts Academy) that took place at the ninth-annual ISOMATA music festival.
45 years ago – 1975
Thunder, lightning and showers occurred five days in a row, leaving 1.03 inches of moisture.
40 years ago – 1980
Possible annexation of the Dutch Flat area into the area covered by County Service Area 36 was being studied.
35 years ago – 1985
It was announced that the proposed $11 million Idyllwild-area sewer project would be ready to go out for construction bids in the spring.
30 years ago – 1990
Three portable classrooms would soon be arriving at Idyllwild School to make a separate complex for middle-school students.
25 years ago – 1995
Lake Hemet hosted the Great American Duck Race, where almost 6,000 rubber ducks, wearing molded dark glasses, “swam” to raise funds for the Hemet Valley Dolphins Swim Team.
20 years ago – 2000
A weekly bus service from Idyllwild to Hemet got off to a rocky start. The first pick-up was over an hour late and once the bus made it down the Hill, it made only one stop at the mall instead of making all the promised stops along Florida Avenue.
15 years ago – 2005
Jeri Sue Haney, manager of Guaranty Bank (now BBVA Compass), convened a well-attended town meeting to create a community-wide Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
10 years ago – 2010
In an attempt to raise funds for the organization, the Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce entered the auction market. Local merchants donated merchandise or gift certificates that the chamber made available to the public through eBay.
5 years ago – 2015
Gail (Hai Fang) Qi, founder and longtime owner of Far East Gifts, sold her business after 20 years.
1 year ago – 2019
Idyllwild Arts Academy welcomed a record-breaking 322 students from over 30 different countries and had Sunday and Monday that week to make new friends and reunite with old friends before classes began.
