65 years ago – 1948

Sen. William Knowland, an overnight guest at the Idyllwild Inn, met formally with Hill residents to discuss local affairs.

 

60 years ago – 1953

Ladies of the American Legion Auxiliary met to sew gift projects for the Veterans Hospital.

 

55 years ago – 1958

The Rotary Club announced a Halloween party for grade-school students. The Lions Club was feting teenagers.

 

50 years ago – 1963

A Cal Electric construction crew started work on a new 33,000-volt line that would double the volume of power in the Idyllwild area. It was to supplement the line that was extended from Mountain Center in 1947.

 

45 years ago – 1968

A representative of J.P. Edmunson Co., a nationwide tourism firm, announced the company had purchased 2,000 acres in Garner Valley. The firm mentioned plans for 2,000 to 2,500 vacation homes initially, plus a golf course and lake.

 

40 years ago – 1973

There was excitement when the Idyllwild County Water District tested a new well in its watershed a mile above Foster Lake. The well was producing 100 gallons a minute at 560 feet.

 

35 years ago – 1978

Hill residents talked about what they were doing to win the battle against inflation. Some solutions offered were growing a vegetable garden, burning wood as fuel and buying food in bulk.

 

30 years ago – 1983

A school bus crash was simulated as part of a training exercise involving mountain emergency service units. Representatives from the Idyllwild Fire Department, California Department of Forestry, Mountain Area Disaster Preparedness, U.S. Forest Service, sheriff’s office, Hemet Valley Ambulance service and Mt. San Jacinto State Park participated in the exercise.

 

25 years ago – 1988

Then-owners of the Rustic Theatre, Morrie and Sara Bronson, were fighting Riverside County over regulations requiring them to build a parking lot with 84 parking spaces.

 

20 years ago – 1993

A tree on Lodge Road fell and crushed an Acura Legend owned by Lynda Allen of Fern Valley. Strong winds caused the tree to fall. It was removed later that day.

 

15 years ago – 1998

After 34 years of volunteer service, George Kretsinger retired from the Idyllwild Fire Protection District.

 

10 years ago – 2003

As wildfires raged in Southern California, the annual Great Pumpkin Parade was canceled and carnival events were moved indoors to Idyllwild School due to fire safety concerns on the mountain.

 

5 years ago – 2008

Retired teacher Lou Padula of Pine Cove recently attended Hot Dog University (HDU) in Wisconsin as a birthday gift from his wife, Ana Marie. She had seen an interview on CBS TV’s “Sunday Morning” with HDU proprietor and sole teacher Mark Reitman, PhD (Professor of hot Dogs).

 

1 year ago – 2012

At the age of 97, Dot Lewis was recognized for her work as a pilot during World War II. Motivated to become a pilot after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Lewis became one of the few women pilots of her time.