Past Tense: February 11, 2021

70 years ago – 1951
Town Crier founder and publisher Ernie Maxwell was the moderator of the Chamber’s Community Night for “the Hillfolk’s get-together to exchange ideas of what they want to see accomplished on the Hill.”

65 years ago – 1956
A group of locals set up an Idyllwild booth at the Indio Fair. It featured a pine cone display, rustic bird feeders, samples of manzanita jelly and a model rustic log cabin bearing the name “N.O. SMOG.”

60 years ago – 1961
The Idyllwild Inn was sold to a group of local investors who were not identified. Real estate broker Jerry Johnson handled the transaction.

55 years ago – 1966
Lake Hemet, rated as one of the best trout habitats in the state, had 168,000 rainbow trout fingerlings planted in it.

50 years ago – 1971
The first steps were taken by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to incorporate Highway 74 and the Banning-Idyllwild Highway (Highway 243) into the California Scenic Highway system
45 years ago – 1976
State Sen. Robert Presley, a former law-enforcement officer, was looking into allegations made by the local CHP that school buses ferrying mountain students to Hemet High School were dangerously overcrowded.

40 years ago – 1981
Television’s popular doctor, Marcus Welby, M.D., played by actor Robert Young, was on the set of a Sanka coffee commercial being shot near the south side of Lake Hemet.

35 years ago – 1986
Idyllwild store managers acted promptly to remove Tylenol capsules from shelves after hearing about the death of a New York woman who died after taking two capsules laced with potassium cyanide.

30 years ago – 1991
Town Hall started a Teen Center to operate on Friday evenings with dancing, ping pong, pool and arcade games. More than 80 teenagers attended the first dance. They handled all the planning, decorating and cleanup.

25 years ago – 1996
The Town Crier reported that Riverside County collected more than a third of its motel bed tax in the few square miles making up Idyllwild and Pine Cove. Local residents were of the opinion that the money, which went into Riverside County’s general fund, should be used for direct local needs.

20 years ago – 2001
Margaret Anna Humber, wife of Rollin Humber for whom Humber Park is named, died at the age of 96. Mrs. Humber helped establish Idyllwild’s Community Presbyterian Church.

15 years ago – 2006
The California Board of Forestry approved new state regulations for defensible space, expanding the required clearance around homes to 100 feet from the previous 30 feet.

10 years ago – 2011
“All together now,” said American Idol Judge Randy Jackson. “Yes!” all three judges shouted in unison and, with that, local Casey Abrams got the most rousing send-off to Hollwood given by Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler at the Idol’s Austin Auditions.

5 years ago – 2016
Pete “Pedro” Anderson, a much-loved Idyllwild musician, storyteller and artist, died suddenly and unexpectedly from the rapid onset of massive pneumonia.

1 year ago – 2020
Mountain Pottery hosted an event to create clay beads to represent each of the 7,209 deaths that have occurred in the last 20 years among migrants crossing the southwestern border of the United States.