70 years ago – 1951
The Lions Club viewed Korean War combat films at Fern Valley Lodge. The movies showed U.S. Marines withdrawing from Chosin.

65 years ago – 1956
Because of continuous dry weather, residents and visitors were being asked to be extra careful of fire during the holidays. Jess Southwell and other Forest Service lookouts were still at their fire posts.

60 years ago – 1961
In anticipation of completing the new Idyllwild Library, the county library director announced the appointment of Dorothy Bear as librarian. Hope Bell, retiring, had been Idyllwild’s librarian previously.

55 years ago – 1966
Town Hall was ablaze with lights for the Christmas season. One hundred people attended a Christmas program there in which a cantata featured Louis Sauter directing with Dolores Bergman singing the solo part.

50 years ago – 1971
Over the weekend, somebody painted the house Ben Jones was building in Pine Cove. The painter must have picked the wrong structure by mistake. Fortunately, the owner approved the color chosen.
• • •
Temperatures in Idyllwild had dropped to 15 and 16 degrees on two nights.

45 years ago – 1976
Shopping in Anchorage, Alaska, Grace Beckwith sat down in a mall to rest. Pretty soon, Santa Claus sat down next to her. Learning that Grace was from Idyllwild, Santa revealed that he had spent much of his younger days here on the Hill.

40 years ago – 1981
Al Austin, an Idyllwild resident, was appointed to fill the vacancy left on the Idyllwild Water District board when George Kretsinger resigned.

35 years ago – 1986
For the first time in its 40-year history, Idyllwild Fire Protection District hired a woman call-firefighter. Lori Opliger of Idyllwild was one of three new firefighters to join the Idyllwild Firefighters Association. The other two new call-firefighters were Randy Nugent and Dave Sandlin.

30 years ago – 1991
While attempting to investigate the stabbing murder of Terence Alberni, two Riverside County Sheriff’s officers were shot at by two men on Sugar Pine Drive in Pine Cove.

25 years ago – 1996
Phyllis Petri was elected president of the Hemet Unified School District governing board.

20 years ago – 2001
The Christmas Bird Count at Lake Hemet logged 90 species.

15 years ago – 2006
Riverside County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to rename Highway 243 the “Esperanza Firefighters’ Memorial Highway.” A similar proposal was to go before the state Legislature in January following the deaths of five U.S. Forest Service firefighters Oct. 26, 2006, during the Esperanza Fire..

10 years ago – 2011
The draft Corridor Management Plan for the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway became available for public comment.

5 years ago – 2016
California’s minimum wage would rise to $10.50 an hour on Jan. 1, 2017, for businesses with 26 or more workers with subsequent graduated increases topping out at $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2022.

1 year ago – 2020
Due to the recent abrupt resignation of Idyllwild Postmaster Mark Smith, the remaining staff had been overwhelmed with operations during the holiday season.