70 years ago – 1950
A Town Crer story, “We’re News in New York,” informed readers that a recent New York Herald editorial urged Secretary of the Interior Chapman to defend the San Jacinto wild area from “the encroachment of those who would threaten a great wilderness now successfully preserved.”

65 years ago – 1955
A record crowd met for the opening meeting of the P.T.A. winter season and a fellowship potluck supper. It was announced that the P.T.A. membership drive resulted in 266 members.

60 years ago – 1960
James Webb, a writer for MGM studios, returned to his Saunders Meadow cabin to find that his collection of rifles and pistols had been stolen.

55 years ago – 1965
After almost 20 years of ownership, Glenn and Nina Mae Froehlich announced they were selling the Rustic Theatre. The new owner expected to open the theater an additional night.

50 years ago – 1970
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted to accept $45,000 from the State Department of Aeronautics. The money was earmarked specifically for a potential mountain airport in the Mountain Center area.

45 years ago – 1975
Jim Jacobson, candidate for director of the Fern Valley Water District, urged the district’s directors to look for additional local sources of water in Strawberry Valley rather than relying on Garner Valley as a future water source.

40 years ago – 1980
The possibility of a public high school in Idyllwild was the subject of a public meeting hosted by two trustees of the Hemet Unified School District. It was concluded that building a school was not financially possible.

35 years ago – 1985
Santa Ana winds roared through Idyllwild, knocking down trees and causing power outages.

30 years ago – 1990
The Idyllwild Arts Academy orchestra changed its name to the International Chamber Orchestra, as many of the new students were recruited from abroad.

25 years ago – 1995
The federal government had laid off its seasonal firefighters and cut the number of fire engines available in a given day, though fire danger remained unchanged on the Hill.

20 years ago – 2000
Idyllwild School had the second highest Academic Performance Index
(API) of all Hemet Unified School District (HUSD) schools. The state awarded Idyllwild School $150 per student.

15 years ago – 2005
After Hurricane Katrina, Darren Schilling, Idyllwild Arts (IA) marketing director, reported that 11 students from New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA) had arrived on campus.

10 years ago – 2010
Working with Marge Muir, longtime Tree Lighting organizer, the new Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce board and the Idyllwild Business Roundtable (IBRT) planned to expand the Thanksgiving weekend Tree Lighting Ceremony into a six-weekend event called “Winterfest.”

5 years ago – 2015
In four years, the Idyllwild Middle School cross-country team had grown from 10 runners to 32, said coach Lee Arnson. He and Misty Hitchcock, both volunteer coaches, had built a thriving sport in Idyllwild that few other Hemet Unified middle schools had.

1 year ago – 2019
A small, quarter-acre size fire ignited off the Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail near Cougar Road. The rate of spread was slow to moderate due to light winds and was 100% contained by firefighters within a couple of hours.