Past Tense: April 7, 2022
65 years ago – 1957
Bee Krone composed the song “Let’s Keep America Beautiful,” and Philippe Buhler composed music for a string quartet that was given a first performance at the University of Redlands.
60 years ago – 1962
The county Board of Supervisors launched a campaign to have the Banning-Idyllwild Highway taken into a state highway system.
55 years ago – 1967
Arthur Gutzman announced he would resign as director of the Idyllwild Youth Association.
50 years ago – 1972
Route 243, the Idyllwild-Banning Highway, was designated a Scenic Highway with the signing of a resolution by state Director of Public Works James A. Moe.
45 years ago – 1977
Clarence Huffman, a cousin of Howard Brown of Idyllwild, died in history’s greatest air disaster in the Canary Islands. Huffman’s wife Gloria, and her parents also died.
40 years ago – 1982
A six-day storm during the last official days of winter left about 2 feet of snow and added 5.06 inches of moisture in Idyllwild.
• • •
Charlie Kretsinger and George Hoffman, both of Idyllwild, were awarded service pins by the Idyllwild Lions Club.
35 years ago – 1987
An $8.9-million increase in a Clean Water Grant for the Idyllwild-area sewer project was received and planners were preparing to go to bid.
30 years ago – 1992
A group of California Department of Transportation officials came to Idyllwild to discuss the Strawberry Creek Bridge replacement project and the contentious subject of removing three trees. Despite protests, the group announced the trees would have to go.
25 years ago – 1997
Palani Einstein of Stone Creek was off to live in the Bay area to train with her racing team after a recent run of wins in Mesa, Arizona.
20 years ago – 2002
Idyllwild resident David Salter was the Hemet High decathlon team’s strongest performer at the state Academic Decathlon.
15 years ago – 2007
A skull and bones found along Highway 74 were identified as the remains of Claude Rochon of Hemet.
10 years ago – 2012
The donor of the Idyllwild Community Center land doubled his matching contribution to the Idyllwild playground project from $25,000 to $50,000.
5 years ago – 2017
The Hemet Unified School District announced that the district and the Hemet Teachers Association had reached an impasse in their negotiations of staff salaries.
1 year ago – 2021
Longtime Idyllwild resident, film and TV actor Chris Pennock died at age 77.
