Past Tense: March 13, 2014
65 years ago – 1949
Caretakers of the Bunker Ranch found themselves snowbound for seven weeks with dwindling provisions.
60 years ago – 1954
The Isaac Walton League built and installed 14 signs to warn motorists about deer on local highways.
55 years ago – 1959
More than 60 mountaineers attended a workshop, sponsored by Forest Lumber, about how to get the most from their chainsaws.
50 years ago – 1964
The Idyllwild Youth Symphony left for London and a concert tour of Wales.
45 years ago – 1969
Mrs. Bertha Chadwick Lichtwald, known as “Anza’s Mother,” died at age 88. The community’s first postmaster was instrumental in securing post office approval for the name Anza in 1924. Previously, the community was generally known as Bautista or Hamilton.
40 years ago – 1974
The energy crisis was cited as the main cause of a sharp decline in residential construction. It was reported that not a single building permit was issued in the mountain area during February.
35 years ago – 1979
More than 1,900 questionnaires were mailed to property owners by the Idyllwild Fire Protection District commissioners. Of the 586 returned, 412 favored paying an approximate $50 surcharge to maintain fire services as they were.
30 years ago – 1984
Four cases of heartworm were discovered in Hill dogs. Dog owners were urged to have their dogs checked by a veterinarian.
25 years ago – 1989
Modern technology came to the Hill when the Security Pacific Bank installed a Ready Teller (ATM) Machine.
20 years ago – 1994
A surveillance camera was installed in the Idyllwild Post Office lobby in response to after-hours vandalism.
15 years ago – 1999
The community was stunned by the generosity of the late Ann Baerwald of Idyllwild when it was announced that she had bequeathed $100,000 to the Idyllwild Community Fund and $50,000 each to the Soroptimists and the Mountain Community Patrol.
10 years ago – 2004
A meeting was held to get input from kids regarding the final choice on ramp selection for the soon-to-be-built skate park.
5 years ago – 2009
After a Riverside County Superior Court jury handed down a guilty verdict for multiple arsons and the murder of five firefighters to a Beaumont mechanic, the prosecution began the penalty phase of the trial in determining between death or life in prison without possibility of parole for Raymond Lee Oyler, 38.
1 year ago – 2013
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck the Hill just before 10 a.m. Monday, March 11. Initially reported as a 5.2 quake by the U.S. Geological Survey, the temblor was followed by six aftershocks, the largest of which was a magnitude 2.7 at 10:36 a.m.
