Lake Fulmor in 1952 or 1953, the morning after trout season opened, showing part of the estimated 1,500 persons who lined the banks, shoulder-to-shoulder. A California Department of Fish and Game creel count crew checked out 653 anglers the first day with a total of 3,019 trout, most of them stocked during the past month. Cars were parked along the highway for a half-mile in each direction, as well as in the large parking area provided near the lake. For the firsrt time since it opened in 1949, Lake Fulmor was flowing over the spillway in good shape.
File Photo

70 years ago – 1948

Chess and bridge were favorite features of evenings at Idyllwild Inn.

65 years ago – 1953

Nearly 30 members had signed up for the newly organized Rifle and Pistol Club sponsored by the American Legion Post 800.

60 years ago – 1958

The Sikkings were about to open their new shop called The Grey Squirrel, featuring ceramics made in their studio.

50 years ago – 1968

Idyllwild real estate brokers agreed not to post “For Sale” signs on properties they were handling.

45 years ago – 1973

The Fern Valley Corners Restaurant offered a breakfast of three buttermilk hotcakes and two eggs for 69 cents.

40 years ago – 1978

Traces of bubonic plague were found in the Dark Canyon campground. The area was quarantined by U.S. Department of Health officials while animal burrows were treated with pesticides to kill infected fleas.

25 years ago – 1993

A snowstorm interrupted work on the Strawberry Creek Bridge replacement project.

20 years ago – 1998

Two Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit members, Lee Arnson and Bob Baker, were awarded the Medal of Valor for bravery and heroism by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. They had risked their lives to save another rescue worker who had been severely injured after falling 1,000 feet down a steep, icy slope.

15 years ago – 2003

Town Crier columnist Bill Lumsden was memorialized in a new book. A collection of his essays and other works was released in a book titled “Natura Doceri.” Proceeds from the sale would go to the Idyllwild Scholarship Fund.

10 years ago – 2008

Policy changes by national insurer Allstate were causing some problems for local homeowners.

5 years ago – 2013

Residential burglaries were reported to have decreased after Hemet Station sheriff’s deputies conducted a weeklong Idyllwild crime sweep in August 2012, according to the Hemet Station. Arrests were made, drug houses were cleared out and, according to the Hemet Station, the raid seemed effective in reducing crime.   

1 year ago – 2017

The Hemet Unified School District announced that the district and the Hemet Teachers Association had reached an impasse in their negotiations of staff salaries.

Similar Posts

  • 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,…

  • | |

    Readers Write: Gratitude

    Dear editor:I think we need to express our appreciation and gratitude to Christina and Kelsi at our local post office.They were virtually abandoned on the job during a pandemic and at the U.S. Postal Service’s busiest time of year. Yet, they stepped up to the situation and heroically maintained the operations under impossible circumstances.Yes, there…

  • Past Tense: November 3, 2016

    70 years ago – 1946 Ernie and Betty Maxwell founded the Town Crier in the attic of their home using a mimeograph and handwritten headlines. 60 years ago – 1956 Max and Bee Krone were featured in “The Instructor,” a teacher’s magazine. A section of their song arrangements appeared in several issues. 55 years ago…

  • Past Tense: Jan. 19, 2012

    65 years ago – 1947 There were 300 families living year-round in the area. 60 years ago – 1952 Movie shows at Hillbilly Lodge ended as the Froelichs worked to complete their new Rustic Theatre. 55 years ago – 1957 Hill folk living beside Strawberry Creek reported hearing a strange noise following the heavy rain….

  • Past Tense

    75 years ago – 1948 The PTA raised $150 at its first Hill social event. 70 years ago – 1953 The thunderstorm that drenched Idyllwild proceeded northward, leaving 300 lightning strikes in the Six Rivers National Forest. 65 years ago – 1958 Charlotte Gorzny, an eager youthful reader, read 47 books to top all other…