65 years ago – 1950

Hill businesses were stocking up for the holidays. Woodland Crafts’ beautiful hand-blocked luncheon cloths were “gifts to excite the most fastidious hostess,” said a Town Crier article.

60 years ago – 1955

Idyllwild School was organizing a program, “Christmas Legends around the World,” to be given in each room of the school.

55 years ago – 1960

The 30 people who gathered at the Harry Kibbons residence formed a property owners’ organization, tentatively calling it the Idyllwild Property Owners’ Association.

50 years ago – 1965

After lengthy discussions between property owner groups, the county Board of Supervisors approved creating a special service district for fire protection in the Pine Cove area.

45 years ago – 1970

An Idyllwild man was collecting live snakes from  around the world. His most recent find was a Regal Python from Africa, which he kept in his home near Foster Lake.

40 years ago – 1975

Lake San Marcos developer Mary Nelson won the grudging approval of the Riverside County Planning Department to develop several areas of land in downtown Idyllwild by clearcutting the area bordering Strawberry Creek.

35 years ago – 1980

The Idyllwild Fire Protection District approved a resolution to increase benefits for paramedics and EMTs.

30 years ago – 1985

The UC James Reserve was changing from an isolated mountain residence to a key unit in the University of California’s Natural Reserve System.

25 years ago – 1990

Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts and Hemet Unified School District officials were talking about a pilot project that would provide a local home for displaced day students from the defunct Elliott-Pope Preparatory School.

20 years ago – 1995

Teachers Willy Krebbers, Barbara Pelham and Tom Skinner were among nine recipients of mini-grants from the Hemet Education Foundation.

15 years ago – 2000

After announcing that he would be interested in purchasing the Idyllwild-Pine Cove Community Center, Riverside County 3rd District Supervisor Jim Venable discussed with officials the possibility of a Hill county and state offices building.

10 years ago – 2005

Kay Ceniceros of Idyllwild was awarded the Exchange Club of Hemet-San Jacinto’s 39th-annual Book of Golden Deeds Award. Ceniceros was the first woman on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and served for 16 years.

5 years ago – 2010

For many years, Idyllwild Bible Church hosted an outdoor Living Nativity where church members, dressed in biblical garb, brave the weather to reenact the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus. Of the event, IBC Pastor Tim Westcott said, “We’ve seen it as our gift to the spiritual life of the community.”

1 year ago – 2014

Christmas on the Hill is always a wonderful time to visit and celebrate the holidays the old-fashioned way. And while snow is not guaranteed, the cool, crisp weather, the pine-scented air and the 100-foot Christmas tree adorned with 4,500 colorful lights located in the center of the Idyllwild village were certain to fill visitors with the holiday spirit.