Past Tense: July 2, 2015
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65 years ago – 1950
Census counted 604 permanent residents in Idyllwild, Mountain Center and Pine Cove.
60 years ago – 1955
Chamber of Commerce trustees met with California Telephone Co. officials regarding complaints by local business people that they were unable to make off-the-Hill calls. A request was made for more trunk lines.
55 years ago – 1960
Eighteen citations were issued by the Forest Service and Sheriff’s officers to 10 Navy men from Chula Vista. The men were cited for an illegal campfire, shooting fireworks and providing alcoholic beverages to minors.
50 years ago – 1965
Don Frandsen was elected head of the Playhouse in the Pines community theater group.
45 years ago – 1970
A Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit helicopter plunged into tree tops while attempting to rescue an injured Boy Scout in Little Round Valley, a camping area near Mt. San Jacinto.
40 years ago – 1975
The Woodland Park Manor Motel on South Circle Drive was sold by Mr. and Mrs. Ken Gooding to Mr. and Mrs. Jim Wyllie.
35 years ago – 1980
Thousand Trails Inc. purchased the 190-acre Wilderness Pines recreational facility in Pine Cove.
30 years ago – 1985
The Community Recycling Center was reopened on Highway 243.
25 years ago – 1990
The California Highway Patrol began 24-hour coverage of the Hill with a 90-day test period that would help determine the extent of future coverage, according to Norval Stacy, public affairs officer for the CHP Banning office.
20 years ago – 1995
In the Making America Safe Essay Contest, Sean Townsend, 15, of Idyllwild, was chosen as one of the five national grand prize winners in the 15- to 18-year-old category.
15 years ago – 2000
Another cellular company opened shop on the Hill. Verizon Wireless, formerly Airtouch Cellular, completed construction of its transmission equipment on Pine Cove Water District property, and officially began service.
10 years ago – 2005
Idyllwild and Pine Cove water districts raised their water rates — IWD by 15 percent and PCWD by 10 percent. Both agencies took the action to help offset property tax revenue lost from the state budget negotiations from the previous summer.
5 years ago – 2010
Twenty-one Idyllwild young people became paid interns through the federally funded Summer Work Experience. They worked for local businesses that had applied to host and mentor the interns.
1 year ago – 2014
Another local pet fell victim to a rattlesnake bite in Idyllwild. Nancy and Steve Carter contacted the Town Crier to advise that a rattlesnake had bitten their 7-and-a-half-year-old Red Boston terrier, Rosie, in the eye.
