Past Tense: December 17, 2020

70 years ago – 1950

Hill businesses were stocking up for the holidays. Woodland Crafts’ beautiful hand-blocked luncheon cloths were “gifts to excite the most fastidious hostess,” said a Town Crier article.

65 years ago – 1955
Idyllwild School was organizing a program, “Christmas Legends around the World,” to be given in each room of the school.

60 years ago – 1960
The 30 people who gathered at the Harry Kibbons residence formed a property owners’ organization, tentatively calling it the Idyllwild Property Owners’ Association.
55 years ago – 1965
After lengthy discussions between property owner groups, the county Board of Supervisors approved creating a special service district for fire protection in the Pine Cove area.

50 years ago – 1970
An Idyllwild man was collecting live snakes from around the world. His most recent find was a Regal Python from Africa, which he kept in his home near Foster Lake.

45 years ago – 1975
Lake San Marcos developer Mary Nelson won the grudging approval of the Riverside County Planning Department to develop several areas of land in downtown Idyllwild by clearcutting the area bordering Strawberry Creek.

40 years ago – 1980
The Idyllwild Fire Protection District approved a resolution to increase benefits for paramedics and EMTs.

35 years ago – 1985
The UC James Reserve was changing from an isolated mountain residence to a key unit in the University of California’s Natural Reserve System.

30 years ago – 1990
Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (now Idyllwild Arts) and Hemet Unified School District officials were talking about a pilot project that would provide a local home for displaced day students from the defunct Elliott-Pope Preparatory School.

25 years ago – 1995
Teachers Willy Krebbers, Barbara Pelham and Tom Skinner were among nine recipients of mini-grants from the Hemet Education Foundation.

20 years ago – 2000
After announcing that he would be interested in purchasing the Idyllwild-Pine Cove Community Center, Riverside County 3rd District Supervisor Jim Venable discussed with officials the possibility of a Hill county and state offices building.

15 years ago – 2005
Kay Ceniceros of Idyllwild was awarded the Exchange Club of Hemet-San Jacinto’s 39th-annual Book of Golden Deeds Award. Ceniceros was the first woman on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and served for 16 years.

10 years ago – 2010
For many years, Idyllwild Bible Church (IBC) hosted an outdoor Living Nativity where church members, dressed in biblical garb, brave the weather to reenact the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus. Of the event, IBC Pastor Tim Westcott said, “We’ve seen it as our gift to the spiritual life of the community.”

5 years ago – 2015
Hemet Unified School District trustees held their board organizational meeting for 2016 and elected Idyllwild representative Vic Scavarda of Idyllwild as vice president.

1 year ago – 2019
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recognized its talented employees in a ceremony at the USDA Jefferson Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Idyllwild resident Heidi Hoggan was one of the honored recipients of the Chief’s Honor Award.