75 years ago – 1948
“Don’t look for the Town Crier next week,” advised the editor. “We’re skipping every other week to do our winter chores.”
70 years ago – 1953
The Marais-Miranda folk opera “African Heartbeat” premiered at the Bowman, but the weather was so cold the audience huddled in blankets.
65 years ago – 1958
Anza Electric Cooperative was conducting a survey to see how many potential users there might be for telephone service in Anza.
60 years ago – 1963
The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was getting set to open.
55 years ago – 1968
Prolonged drought had turned brush lands into a living tinderbox. Low rainfall had been recorded for more than 18 years.
50 years ago – 1973
Five occupants of a house on Fern Valley Drive barely escaped death when their house, along with two cars, was destroyed by a fire. The fire originated from a can of ashes removed from the fireplace and placed on the deck. Burn holes could be seen in the bottom of the burned-out can. The family dog perished.
45 years ago – 1978
More than 51,000 people visited the mountain area over Labor Day weekend, according to figures the U.S. Forest Service compiled. Of that number, 23,648 visited Idyllwild.
40 years ago – 1983
The Garner Valley Volunteer Firefighters barbecue was called a “great success,” with nearly 700 people attending the dinner and dance. Proceeds were to be used for fire and rescue equipment.
35 years ago – 1988
Heavy, last-minute enrollment and a power outage added to the usual hectic activity at area schools during the first day of the new school year.
30 years ago – 1993
The Disaster Preparedness Committee was working to purchase caches of medical supplies for each of its Neighborhood Collection Points on the Hill.
25 years ago – 1998
The fifth-annual Jazz in the Pines festival was very successful with a 25% increase in attendance over the previous year.
20 years ago – 2003
The Bobcats, an Idyllwild American Youth Soccer Organization that Chris Read coached, came back champions of a regional tournament. The five girls went undefeated in four games to win the girls under age 10 tournament.
15 years ago – 2008
Internationally recognizable Camel and Marlboro man Bob Beck died at home in Idyllwild after a difficult struggle with cancer.
10 years ago – 2013
A summer storm pummeled Idyllwild with pea-sized hail causing flash-flood warnings throughout central Riverside County.
5 years ago – 2018
Thursday morning, Aug. 30, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Marijuana Extraction Team removed a grove of marijuana from U.S. Forest Service lands north of Lake Fulmor.
1 year ago – 2022
Officials assigned to the unified command for the 11,500-acre Fairview Fire, which was first reported in East Hemet Sept. 5, spoke to the public at the Riverside County Fire Station 52 in Garner Valley.
