Past Tense: March 17, 2016
File photo/Norwood Hazard
65 years ago – 1951
A civilian flyer crashed in the Dutch Flat area. Rescuers had found him stumbling barefoot along the highway, after spending more than 24 hours in the snow and temperatures that dipped to 15 degrees.
60 years ago – 1956
Lucille Ball and children were guests at Woodland Park Manor.
55 years ago – 1961
Finest White sold his horse business to the Idyllwild Stables. The transaction involved 50 horses, trucks, saddles and pack boxes.
50 years ago – 1966
The Forest Service announced that the Kenworthy dump near Thomas Mountain would be permanently closed on April 1.
45 years ago – 1971
In a controversial logging plan, the Forest Service made plans to cut down trees in the area of the James Reserve that had been damaged by smog.
40 years ago – 1976
A late afternoon “Ride ‘n’ Dine” on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway provided “the ride of your life” while dining on prime rib — all for $6.95.
35 years ago – 1981
Funeral services were held for longtime Idyllwild resident Eleanor S. Johnson, a member of a local pioneer family who donated the site for Town Hall and the Idyllwild Fire Department. Eleanor Park, which was in the center of town, had been named for her.
30 years ago – 1986
Eggs were the topic of conversation when folks all over town (including Town Crier staffers) stood eggs on end on the first day of spring. It’s alleged that this feat is possible only twice a year, at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, when the gravitational pull of the sun is equal on all sides.
25 years ago – 1991
Judi Sheppard Missett, Pine Cove resident and founder of Jazzercise, was celebrating the program’s fifth anniversary on the Hill.
20 years ago – 1996
Hemet Unified School District Trustee Bill Sanborn announced that HUSD was close to settling an October 1994 lawsuit. A group of parents took issue with HUSD’s sex education curriculum. In response, trustees removed sex education from its curriculum entirely.
15 years ago – 2001
Idyllwild Arts Academy students were featured on “From the Top,” a hit weekly public radio series that showcased the musical performances and stories of the nation’s most exceptional young classical musicians.
10 years ago – 2006
Two Hemet men, Joseph Francis Blake, 36, and his stepson, Melvin M. Moon, 30, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of two Idyllwild men — William Bailey and Lyman Pohley. The local men were severely beaten and left for dead, apparent victims of a vigilante-style attack meant for Bailey, a registered sex offender for a crime committed almost 30 years previously.
5 years ago – 2011
After an outstanding performance on the first “finals” segment of the year’s “American Idol” competition, Idyllwild’s Casey Abrams returned a second time to Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. After receiving two blood tranfusions and continued medical and dietary care for Crohn’s Disease, Abrams was released four days later.
1 year ago – 2015
U.S. Rep. Dr. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., was on the Hill, to discuss and advance his concerns about wildfires and his legislation (H.R. 1009) submitted the previous month.
