Past Tense: February 18, 2021
70 years ago – 1951
The Lions Club was making plans to construct a children’s playground adjacent to Town Hall.
65 years ago – 1956
It was Civil Defense Week on the Hill. Local stores were displaying emergency supplies and residents were asked to learn about being prepared for an emergency.
60 years ago – 1961
Rodney Welch revealed plans for a major development on the Banning-Idyllwild Highway. He owned about 1,000 acres in the Stone Creek area. The “town” was to be known as Alandale Pines (now called Stone Creek).
55 years ago – 1966
State game manager Bonnar Blong reported the local deer population was making a slow gain after the severe 1960-61 drought, which claimed about 75% of the animals.
50 years ago – 1971
David Hunt Sr. assumed management of the Rustic Theatre. Admission prices were $1.50 for adults, $1 for students and 75 cents for children.
45 years ago – 1976
Demolition of Idyll-wild’s landmark Carriage Inn began.
40 years ago – 1981
Hillcrest Market in Strawberry Creek Square was advertising avocados for 25 cents each, bananas for 29 cents a pound and frozen meat pies at four for $1.
35 years ago – 1986
Founded by part-time Pine Cove resident Judi Sheppard Missett, Jazzercise classes were started in Idyllwild.
30 years ago – 1991
Due to environmental and safety concerns, the U.S. Forest Service was considering prohibiting target shooting at the “historic shooting site” called Alvin Meadows, northwest of ISOMATA (now Idyllwild Arts Academy). At the time, shooting was allowed anywhere on Forest Service lands.
25 years ago – 1996
About 100 Garner Valley residents attended a meeting with developer Jeff Dennis at the proposed construction site of a 156-room lodge and a 200-space recreational vehicle park at the southern end of Garner Valley.
20 years ago – 2001
It was announced that the Idyllwild Arts Academy was offering a filmmaking major through a new department called the Department of Moving Pictures.
15 years ago – 2006
At a packed Chamber meeting, community members voiced heated opinions about whether the Chamber should continue managing Town Hall recreation. The Idyllwild Community Recreation Council was vying for the opportunity.
10 years ago – 2011
Marshall Hawkins submitted his resignation as musical director of the Idyllwild Jazz in the Pines. He had been involved with the annual summer jazz fest since its inception in 1994. He later resumed his position.
5 years ago – 2016
President Barack Obama designated three new national monuments in Southern California deserts. The new monuments are Mojave Trails National Monument, Castle Mountains National Monument and the Sand to Snow National Monument, which is in Riverside County.
1 year ago – 2020
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) continued work on the third emergency project to make repairs to fire and storm-damaged highways 74 and 243 (SR 74 and SR 243). Both routes were impacted by an arson fire in July 2018, debris flows in August 2018, and subsequently, major storm damage on Feb. 14, 2019.
