Past Tense: November 12, 2020
70 years ago – 1950
U.S. Forest Service officials inspected the newly paved Banning-Idyllwild Highway before its acceptance into the national forest system.
65 years ago – 1955
At a hearing before the County Board of Supervisors, a group of about 75 people demanded that the supervisors throw out all mountain zoning and place the resort area in an M-3 regulated industrial classification.
60 years ago – 1960
Richard Nixon carried the Hill in his contest with John F. Kennedy for U.S. President.
55 years ago – 1965
In the process of moving the large totem pole from the Idyllwild Inn to Pine Cove, workers blasted open the concrete base and found mementos placed there in 1948 by villagers, visitors and RKO movie crews making a Western starring Tim Holt.
50 years ago – 1970
An overflowing crowd attended memorial services at the Community Church for Kelly Burkett, 16, of Idyllwild, who died in a traffic collision. A memorial fund was established to build a community youth center in his name.
45 years ago – 1975
To combat a rising number of burglaries in the Anza area, some storeowners were said to be sleeping in the back rooms of their stores on the lookout.
40 years ago – 1980
An article in the Town Crier expressed that many Idyllwild homeowners were deciding to install woodburning stoves over electric heating “as the cost of imported oil continued to soar.”
35 years ago – 1985
An outbreak of canine distemper among raccoons in the mountain area was confirmed.
30 years ago – 1990
The new Fern Valley Collection complex was filling up with businesses. Now the site of Café Aroma and other businesses, the architect for the complex was Robert Priefer.
25 years ago – 1995
A recycling project called the Peacebuilders Recycling Center began at Idyllwild School as a fundraiser to buy extra textbooks that students could keep at home to use when completing homework so they wouldn’t have to carry heavy backpacks.
20 years ago – 2000
The directors of two water districts voted to sell the Idyllwild-Pine Cove Community Center for $1 to Riverside County for use as a multi-agency emergency incident center and public meeting place.
15 years ago – 2005
After the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection requested that firefighting air equipment be moved from Hemet-Ryan Airport to March Air Reserve Base, Riverside County 3rd District Supervisor Jeff Stone rejected the possibility, saying the Cal Fire report was biased and slanted.
10 years ago – 2010
“Taps,” 24 simple notes, lasting about a minute, is a legacy belonging to every American. For nearly a century and a half, these clear, sad notes have been saying goodbye to this nation’s heroes. And at the end of each day, they instill hope, comfort and peace to those who have served and are still among the living.
5 years ago – 2015
Management of the Idyllwild Transfer Station changed hands with CR&R Inc. of Stanton, buying the contract that Waste Management Inc. had with Riverside County.
1 year ago – 2019
Millions of Californians practiced how to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” when the ground “shook” during the Great California ShakeOut.
