Past Tense: March 28, 2019

70 years ago – 1949
Plans called for completion of the Idyllwild-Banning Highway by summertime.

65 years ago – 1954
Three search parties were looking for three teenage boys lost in the mountains. They finally emerged, unhurt but hungry, in Tahquitz Canyon.

60 years ago – 1959
Woodland Park Manor and Idyll-a-Wyle Cabins changed hands.

55 years ago – 1964
A three-day blizzard, one of the heaviest snowstorms in several years, dumped 24 inches of snow on the village. Good Friday and Easter sunrise services were canceled due to weather conditions.

50 years ago – 1969
Walter Houk, Southwest editor of Sunset, was a first-time visitor in town. He promised to hurry back when the snow was gone from back-country trails.

45 years ago – 1974
Idyllwild’s Chamber of Commerce pleaded with the Fuel Allocation Board in Sacramento to increase the allocation of gasoline to the community’s gasoline stations.

40 years ago – 1979
Idyllwild Fire Chief Bud Hunt announced that emergency helicopter service between Loma Linda University Medical Center and the Idyllwild area could soon be a reality.

35 years ago – 1984
A draft Environmental Impact Report on the proposed Garner Valley secondary school reported that the school would cause no significant environmental impact and could have some positive impacts.

30 years ago – 1989
Plans were being made for a rededication of a Pine Cove site used in 1926 by a Nobel Prize-winning scientist in experiments to determine the speed of light.

25 years ago – 1994
For the first time in 25 years, the lines of the Idyllwild Water District’s sewer systems were cleaned. This was intended to prepare the system to be videotaped, which would allow IWD workers to see where repairs were needed.
20 years ago – 1999
Idyllwild lost one of its legends with the passing of Robert E. Holmes, master conductor of choirs and founder of Idyllwild’s “Messiah.”

15 years ago – 2004
It was announced that the Natural Resources Conservation Service was opening a local office to manage contracts for removing dead or dying trees.

10 years ago – 2009
On Wednesday, March 18, the same 12 people who found a Beaumont man guilty of arson and five counts of murder recommended sentencing him to the death penalty.

5 years ago – 2014
Be prepared to evacuate your Hill domiciles, was the message of a Mountain Disaster Preparedness meeting. Nothing imminently threatened the Hill’s residents, but all of the speakers at the meeting emphasized the importance of being prepared for an emergency.

1 year ago – 2018
The Idyllwild Water District Board of Directors selected David Hunt as the fifth director.