Idyllwild Town Crier

Wallace Robert Blischke, the oldest child of Walter and Mabel Schulz Blischke, was born April 20, 1934, in Oak Park, Ill. Wally grew up in the west Chicago suburbs with his brother and two sisters. He attended a Lutheran grade school and the local public high school. Wally’s father was a master carpenter who built a dark room in the family...

Bobbie Jean or “BJ,” as she was known to friends and family, was born Jan. 17, 1936, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Robert Fulton Stone and Hazel Elizabeth Wood. During WWII, her father worked for the War Department and BJ and her family transferred to Jersey City, N.J., where she lived and went to grade school. In the late...

As my late-blooming interest in local history has deepened, I’ve become increasingly impressed with the value of old newspapers. They preserve a contemporary record of people and activities in a locale, and regardless of accuracy or bias they balance our often faulty human memories. They’re also an irreplaceable resource for constructing timelines, and timing is often a key to understanding...

Ginger Dagnall, volleyball coordinator, gave this report on last week’s volleyball games: Monday, Jan. 27, Silver Pines beat Forest Lumber. Tuesday, Jan. 28, Idyllwild Garage beat Café Aroma. Wednesday, Jan. 29, Café Aroma beat Higher Grounds. Thursday, Jan. 30, Idyllwild Inn beat Higher Grounds. Standings as of Jan. 30 Team Wins Losses Idyllwild Inn 8 1 Idyllwild Garage 6 3 Silver Pines 6 3 Forest Lumber 5 4 Café Aroma 2 7 Higher Grounds 0 9 The top four teams make it to playoffs scheduled for...

Brendan Steele rode a tremendous third round to a top-6 finish in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale last week. On Saturday he fired a bogey-free, 9-under-par 62 — the lowest round of the entire tournament by two strokes, and the lowest 18-hole score Steele has posted in competition since joining the PGA Tour three years ago. Steele...

Another Riverside County Grand Jury investigation of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District was reported in the Jan. 2 issue of the Town Crier. The IFPD commission on Tuesday, Jan. 28, discussed its concerns with the report’s preparation without addressing its own recommendations. This is the fourth Grand Jury report involving IFPD since 2008. Commissioners Rhonda Andrewson, Jeannine Charles-Stigall and Nancy...

Idyllwild rallied and contributed $12,000 to pay for replacing camera equipment stolen from Idyllwild photographer Jenny Kirchner's car on Jan. 7 while in the desert. An anonymous donor gave $180 on Feb. 4, bringing the contributions to $12,000, the value Kirchner estimates she lost. Kirchner has worked with the Town Crier and other area news outlets for some 12 years, documenting...

Artist Dore Capitani (shown) donated this beautiful metal sculpture, featuring his newest color process, to raise  money to replace Idyllwild Photographer Jenny Kirchner's photographic equipment stolen from her car in the desert while she was on assignment. A couple bought the sculpture this past weekend so now Idyllwild has raised all but $210 of the $12,000 Jenny needs to...

In early October 2013, a 911 dispatcher at the Cal Fire and Riverside received a medical emergency call. But she didn’t simply dispatch an ambulance — she saved a life right over the phone. The caller excitedly told the dispatcher that a person had collapsed and needed help. An engine and ambulance were immediately dispatched to the location, but the...