Past Tense: Nov. 27, 2012
Game Warden Cliff Donham was double-crossed by the very squirrels he protected. When investigating his car’s lack of power, it was revealed that squirrels had been stuffing the exhaust pipe with acorns and nuts.
60 years ago – 1952
There was a flurry of new construction in the village. Next to the Rustic Theatre, a new building was to house Doro’s Electric. Les Hogue was completing a cement-block building on Lower Pine Crest. Jerry Johnson was surveying the lot next to the Idyllwild Inn Gift Shop for a possible drug store, and Walter Wood was completing five deluxe cottages in Fern Valley.
55 years ago – 1957
Damage on the Hill from the windstorm that hit Idyllwild earlier in the month was estimated at more than $100,000.
50 years ago – 1962
Joe Merrick was appointed to fill out the late Jerry Johnson’s term on the Idyllwild Fire Protection District board.
45 years ago – 1967
Jozee Salinas cooked up a batch of Mexican specialties to celebrate the $5,000 prize she won in a snapshot contest.
35 years ago – 1977
Five teenagers from Tustin were rescued by Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit personnel from atop Lily Rock.
30 years ago – 1982
The Idyllwild Arts Foundation contributed $10,000 to the Holmes Amphitheatre project. The contribution helped to assure the formal opening of the amphitheatre the following summer.
25 years ago – 1987
About 2,000 Hill residents and Thanksgiving visitors got a good start on their Christmas shopping at the 21st-annual Fall Harvest Festival, sponsored by the Idyllwild Rotary Club.
20 years ago – 1992
As part of Idyllwild School’s Disaster Preparedness Program, parents were asked to prepare a personal survival kit for each child to be kept at the school.
15 years ago – 1997
Diane Riggi and Kathy Lewis were rehearsing with a group of children to perform at the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.
10 years ago – 2002
Marie Eymann, along with her daughter and granddaughter, stood in front of the sign that identified the new sculpture garden dedicated in a special ceremony at Idyllwild Arts Academy. The garden memorialized Eymann’s husband, Jim, who died in 1990.
1 year ago – 2011
A 14-year-old boy from Coachella was accidentally shot while hunting with family members in Garner Valley.
