Past Tense: July 25, 2013

65 years ago – 1948
With a net profit of almost $4,000 from the Gold Strike, the Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce paid off a $1,500 note to the bank, borrowed to help build Town Hall.

60 years ago – 1953
Forty members of the Camp Pendleton Marine Band performed at the Community Campfire.

55 years ago – 1958
A freak fire started in the home of Lester Jones, Idyllwild Barber Shop owner, when fumes from a pail of cement sitting in a doorway blew into the pilot light of a refrigerator some 20 feet away.

50 years ago – 1963
Sportland Park offered bowling, swimming, skating and miniature golf.

45 years ago – 1968
A group of hiking Girl Scouts stopped to eat lunch at Little Round Valley. They discovered a fire underway and spent two hours extinguishing it, carrying water in tin cans.

40 years ago – 1973
Prospective renters had a choice between a new knotty pine two-bedroom plus large den renting for $180 a month; a three-bedroom with “dream kitchen” for $250 a month; or a two-bedroom furnished home for $300 a month.

35 years ago – 1978
Staffing and program cutbacks were made at Hurkey Creek and Idyllwild County Park as a result of the passage of Proposition 13.

30 years ago – 1983
Due to a personnel shortage, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District decided to use qualified local residents to fill in as paramedics.

25 years ago – 1988
Hot and dry weather conditions led Forest Service officials to close about 55,000 acres of public federal lands south and west of Idyllwild.

20 years ago – 1993
Idyllwild Fire Protection District’s proposed $897,184 budget was unanimously approved after a public hearing.

15 years ago – 1998
Idyllwild Arts Academy was evacuated while firefighters from three agencies fought a vegetation fire on campus. The fire was located beside a hiking trail up from Pierson Dorm.

10 years ago – 2003
The Fern Valley Water District Board of Directors made plans to adopt a four-stage water conservation plan and to raise water rates for the first time in 12 years.

5 years ago – 2003
New legislation authorized County Service Areas to provide broadband service to their residents. Any CSA could construct, own, improve, maintain and operate broadband facilities, and provide broadband services if no private person or entity was willing.

1 year ago – 2012
Jennifer Gee became the new director of the University of California James Reserve north of Idyllwild.