Past Tense: February 25, 2016

65 years ago – 1951

Ideas for community betterment were discussed at a Chamber of Commerce meeting. Among the suggestions offered: youth projects and recreation facilities, trash cans around the village, conservation education and individual meditation. Seems like some individuals have been meditating on these issues for some time.

60 years ago – 1956

The annual report of the California Electric office, serving Pine Cove, Idyllwild, Fern Valley and Mountain Center, showed 290 resident families (750 individuals) receiving electricity.

55 years ago – 1961

The Izaak Walton League asked the County Board of Supervisors to ban mechanized vehicles on San Jacinto mountain trails.

50 years ago – 1966

Winifred Wood reported on the 1964 data she collected on cars visiting the Hill for the San Jacinto Mt. Advisory Planning Committee. In 1964, she recorded an average of 1,470 cars traveling daily on Circle Drive, up from 610 cars daily in 1960.

45 years ago – 1971

Plans were revealed for the new Hemet High School campus scheduled to open in the first half of 1972. The school’s first campus opened in 1894.

40 years ago – 1976

Cliff Dorn of Idyllwild drove the dogsled that retrieved the body of a man who perished from exposure near the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Dorn was the operator of the Pacific Crest hiking supply store and manager of the warming hut concession at the 8,500-foot level of the Tramway.

35 years ago – 1981

Officials of the Mountain Area High School Project Team and members of the Hemet Unified School District board were recommending that Idyllwild School add an eighth-grade level.

30 years ago – 1986

The Idyll-Gazers, a local amateur astronomy group, invited the public to join an all-night star party to view Halley’s Comet, which is only visible from Earth every 76 years.

20 years ago – 1996

County Service Area 36 board members were considering increasing parcel fees (then $30 per parcel) between $5 and $40 to create an emergency fund and to raise funds for recreation facilities.

10 years ago – 2006

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors heard public comment on the section of the proposed noise ordinance (Ord. 847) that dealt with levels of “ambient noise,” like that generated by musicians performing outdoors at local restaurants.

5 years ago – 2011

At its meeting, the board of the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District voted unanimously to transfer management of the Lake Hemet Campground and recreational facilities to the California Parks Company, with headquarters in Red Bluff.

1 year ago – 2015

In November 2014, California voters overwhelming approved Proposition 1, a bond measure to provide financing to increase water supply, provide clean, safe and reliable water, and restore habitat.