Homes&LandImprovement I DY L LW I L D
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Our town: A tradition of community involvement The building of Town Hall Residents have historically stepped up to join in the effort to improve our town. As the community plans for and works toward building a new community center and playground, we look back on the history of such projects in Idyllwild. Construction of the playground is slated to begin in June, when local builders and organizers will coordinate a workforce of residents who are asked to volunteer their time to build something lasting for the benefit of our town. In 1946, Idyllwild residents set the foundation for this level of community involvement when they gathered to build Town Hall. By Ernie Maxwell Published in the EMax Almanac, 1984
A
lthough not entirely completed, the Idyllwild Community Building (now Town Hall) was officially dedicated July 10, 1947, with dancing
to the music of the Mounted Music Makers. Gene Kincaid, chamber president, was master of ceremonies. Harold Sanborn, chairman of the building committee, was given a present and a long list of contributors to the project was read. A community building was chosen as a project late in 1945 after a committee picked to develop an annual Tahquitz Pageant decided a meeting place, rehearsal facility and place for storing costumes came first. The Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce was
Above, Locals worked to finish up the forms for the Town Hall foundation in December, 1946. At left, mixing concrete for the Town Hall foundation (foreground, from left), Rollin Humber, Chuck Roberts, Vic Poates, Bill Hirsh and Jim Patton. All photos courtesy of Idyllwild Area Historical Society Museum
incorporated on February 6, 1946, when plans for the building were already underway. At first, it was thought another structure – now Silver See Town Hall, page 6
INSIDE: Interim Fire Chief Sherman on fire safety and abatement, pg. 4; Winter, where are you? Preparing for a drought, pg. 5; Ask an Expert, pg. 7; and a short history of the Mountains and the community we love, pg. 8
Page 2 - Idyllwild Home & Land Improvement Guide 2012
Greetings from Grace
INSIDE
The building of Town Hall, pg. 1 Tips from Chief Sherman, pg. 4 Water conservation after a dry winter, pg. 5 Ask an Expert, pg. 7 Plants for your local garden, pg. 7 The history of our mountains; Settling these Hills & Stories from olden times, pgs. 8-11
By Grace Reed Idyllwild Town Crier Publisher With plans to begin construction of the Idyllwild Community Center on everyones’ minds, we thought it would be a good time to revisit the building of Town Hall and the tradition of community involvement and volunteerism in building community resources that last for generations to come. Just as Town Hall, officially dedicated in 1947, remains a gathering place for locals today, the creation of a community center in Idyllwild will serve the town for generations, when most of us are long gone. With such a milestone on the horizon, we thoguht it appropriate to not only revisit the building of Town Hall, but the history of our mountains and their occupants. We hope you’ll enjoy the historical articles (on the cover and continued on page 8) that we’ve resurrected here, written by Town Crier founder Ernie Maxwell, and find common threads linking our efforts today with the tradition of involvement that spans our community’s From the archives: Article and photo published in the Town Crier on history. We’re proud to be part of a community that can Sept. 22, 1967 organize the energy and work power needed to execute projects that benefit us all. In this edition we’re also looking forward at the prospect a potentially volatile fire season. As we near a dry winter’s end, IFPD Interim Fire Clear the clutter ~ Clear your mind Chief Michael Sherman urges the community to use common sense in the forest. Sherman shares helpful Partnering with you to hints for abatement for private residents, commercial “reconceptualize” and businesses and vacant lots. See page 4. rearrange YOUR Pine Cove Water Disrict conservation specialist Vicki furnishings to give Jakubac reminds us that conserving water should be a daily habit and reviews water conservation stages 1 your home a through 3. For that story, see page 5. fresh look. We’ve added a new feature to this year’s Homes and Land Improvement guide. This year, we asked readers to All Bids Are FREE. send us their questions about home improvement and we took them to the experts. You can find those helpful VICKI STREETER, ASP ™ questions and answers on page 7. 659-2167 I’d like to thank our contributors and advertisers or 852-2306 that make special publications like this possible, and of Staging Partners course, the entire Town Crier staff for always producing Accredited Staging Professionals quality publications. Remember, when in doubt hire a professional.
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Page 4 - Idyllwild Home & Land Improvement Guide 2012
Sitting around the campfire by Michael B. Sherman, Interim Fire Chief Common Sense in the Forest … We are truly blessed to live in such a beautiful environment. As Americans we have the freedom to move about this great country and choose to live wherever it suits us best. Many of us choose to either live full-time or parttime in the beautiful mountains that exist in Southern California. I know, as the interim fire chief, I will only be in Idyllwild for a short time, but my beautiful wife Betty and I lived our last 5-1/2 years in a mountain environment very similar to Idyllwild. This brings me to the efforts of this writing, common sense. In my more than 37 years in the fire service, 26 years as a fire chief, I have noticed that people tend to get along better and have happier lives when common sense prevails. This is true both in interactions with each other and especially with government — where many times common sense can’t be found. My specific topic is common sense in the forest. Here’s how this applies to the forests that we live in. We have the great privilege of living here and one of our responsibilities is to maintain a safe environment where we live. If someone moved in next to you and was storing open 100-gallon containers of gasoline, you would probably object. One of your concerns would be safety. The regulators would agree with you because of the greater good for the community. I find it interesting that fire departments are forced to use wildland abatement laws like Public Resource Code 4291 because a few people don’t get it. To me, it is just basic common sense. Since we live in one of the most hazardous wildland fire areas in the world, you would think individuals would want to ensure a fire safe environment. It is definitely for the community’s greater good that each of us maintain a fire safe environment on the property we own, whether it is a commercial business, a
vacant lot or a residence. So, what might common sense look like in our forest? If you are admiring your beautiful piece of property, look up, look down and look all around. If you look up, check your rain gutters and roof for pine needles and debris. While still looking up, check the condition of your chimney screen. Are tree limbs hanging onto the roof or into the reach of embers from your fire place? When was the last time your chimney was cleaned? Is your roof constructed of flammable material? If your eaves have openings, are they screened? What is the condition of the paint on the siding and eaves? When you look down, are you standing in light flashy fuels (grass and light vegetation)? Does that fuel run contiguously to larger flammable materials such as woodpiles, the siding of outbuildings, under wood decks or to the house walls? Are other stacked or piled flammable materials close to outbuildings or the sides of the house? When you look all around, can you see through the forest near your home? If you can’t, why not? Is it the tremendous density of the trees and bushes? If so, do you know that extremely dense forested areas are often less healthy and are overly subject to stress and dying than a properly thinned forest? Is your view restricted because of low hanging branches from large trees that intertwine with lower vegetation to create what are called ladder fuels? Is your access to your property just barely wide enough for your small car to get to the property? How about a fire engine or ambulance? Is your address posted in a highly visible area? If many of the above conditions apply to your property, consider both the effect those things could have on your safety as well as the safety of the community and its residents. If common sense prevails and individuals take
necessary steps to mitigate the above conditions we will all live a happier life in the forest. If not, those charged with enforcement, the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE and Idyllwild Fire will find it necessary to be the mediator for the good of the community. I personally have always favored using the carrot instead of the stick, so please use some common sense and help our mountain forest remain healthy for all to enjoy. If you need help in being fire safe, please contact the above agencies, Forest Care or the Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council. They really are available to help make this community a safer place. Also, remember your neighbors. Sometimes individuals for one reason or another (disabled, elderly, or finances) can’t help themselves as easily as many of us can. When possible, lend a hand or let others know of the need. We truly are blessed to live or visit our mountain forest, so let’s extend that blessing to others by doing our part to be a fire safe community. If a catastrophic fire consumes our forest, the flora, fauna, wild critters, our pets, the community, and we will all suffer loss. That loss will be the loss of the pleasure of living in this beautiful environment. And by the way, campfires in Idyllwild are restricted to campgrounds and during high fire danger season, restricted entirely. Check with the fire department for more information. It’s time to put out the dog and douse the fire.
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Idyllwild Home & Land Improvement Guide 2012 - Page 5
Winter, where are you? By Vicki Jakubac Office Assistant/Conservation Specialist Pine Cove Water District With spring just around the corner, one might wonder,what has become of winter? While the limited snow shoveling and mild temperatures have been enjoyable, the reality is that we have not received a lot of moisture this winter. This summer, we will see the results of a dry winter. When water is abundant and we leave the water conservation stages, it is easy to become complacent and fall back into old water use habits. The best way to insure we have adequate amounts of potable water, however, is to conserve year-round, regardless of the conservation stage we may or may not be in. While we are not currently in a formal water conservation stage, conserving water should be a daily habit that everyone adopts. There are many simple steps you can take to reduce water usage indoors. Using low flow toilets, shower heads and faucets can help save water on a daily basis. Fixing leaky plumbing, washing only full loads in the dishwasher and using water-saving appliances, such as front-loading washing machines and hot water recycling systems, also help to keep water usage at a minimum. Turn off the tap while shaving or brushing your teeth. Try taking a navy shower: wet down, turn off the water while you scrub, then turn on again for a quick rinse. When waiting for the water from a tap to get hot, remember to collect and use it for your pets, watering plants, cooking or cleaning. Do not just let it run down the drain. There are also many ways we can save water outside. The addition of a rain water harvesting system virtually can provide irrigation water for free. An average
Rain
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1,000-square-foot roof will yield over 600 gallons of water for each 1 inch of rain received. Adding compost to the soil in your yard and putting a layer of mulch around trees and plants will help retain water and improve soil quality. Group plants with similar water needs together and dig basins around individual plants and trees to prevent run off while watering. Do not plant new plants in the heat of summer. Wait until fall when the cool weather and winter rains can help plants became established. A container garden, using self-watering containers such as EarthBOXes, helps reduce the amount of irrigation needed. Consider installing a drip irrigation system or soaker hoses and do outside watering in the early morning or late evening in order to minimize water evaporation. You can also plant native plants that have low water requirements once established and reduce your outside water use even more. Conserving water today helps to assure we will have an adequate water supply for tomorrow and for many years to come.
Water Conservation Stages Stage I is voluntary compliance. Customers are asked to conserve, when possible, the amount of water used for domestic and business purposes. Fix leaky plumbing, prevent irrigation runoff, refrain from washing down sidewalks, driveways and parking areas and avoid sprinkling unplanted areas for dust control. The Pine Cove Water District encourages customers to add mulch to their trees and garden to minimize outside watering. The district also provides bark mulch to all Hill residents at no charge. Stage II is mandatory compliance. Customers are required to limit irrigation of outdoor plants and gardens between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. daily and stop all water runoff. Customers cannot fill or refill swimming pools except the small amount needed to replace evaporation in already filled pools. Vehicles can only be washed using a bucket and a hose with a shut-off nozzle. Immediate repairs must be made to any and all leaking water lines and faucets in household plumbing and yard piping. Customers must also cease watering native vegetation and unplanted areas for dust control. Restaurants shall only provide drinking water to patrons upon specific request. Stage III is mandatory emergency restrictions. No water shall be used to irrigate outdoor plants, trees or landscaping of any kind, at any time. No water shall be added to swimming pools, hot tubs or spas to replace evaporation loss or for any other purpose. No water shall be taken from fire hydrants for any reason except for fire emergencies or for the maintenance of system water quality. Water use for construction purposes shall be minimized and no water will be used for dust control, washing structures, sidewalks, driveways or parking areas. Washing motor vehicles and equipment is not allowed except from a bucket using a hose with a shut-off nozzle. In addition, water users shall make immediate repairs to any leaking line or faucet in household plumbing or yard piping.
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Page 6 - Idyllwild Home & Land Improvement Guide 2012
One of the volunteer crews that poured the foundation and basement floor of Town Hall on Dec. 5.
Cedar Street was bustling with activity during Town Hall construction in 1946. All photos courtesy of Idyllwild Area Historical Society Museum
Town Hall Continued from page 1
Pines – could be remodeled and upgraded. However, during the early part of 1946 a majority of those present at a meeting of the chamber in the Idyllwild Inn voted to start with a new structure. The site was donated by the Idyllwild All Year Resort
Company. On Dec. 5, 1946, the town closed down so that everyone could help pour concrete for the basement and foundation. A group of women prepared lunch and dinner for the scores of men and one woman – Vi Taylor – who mixed and poured concrete for five mixers. Later, the name Town Hall became the official title for the building.
Women preparing lunch for Town Hall foundation crew of 100 workers. The tables are set up in front of the original Rustic Theatre (now the Silver Pines Lodge). Notation on back of photo, “1. Betty Maxwell, 4. Vi Taylor.” If anyone can identify more of the women, please contact the Town Crier. In 1954 there was a big “Burn-The-Mortgage” dinner at Town Hall to clear the last debt on the community building. The ISOMATA band provided music.
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Idyllwild Home & Land Improvement Guide 2012 - Page 7
Questions answered T
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nswer: When you mention two heaters, I am assuming (a) they are propane or gas fueled and (b) one is a furnace unit (forced air or non-blower radiant wall type) and another is a water heater. As for gas furnaces, the main issue is the heat exchanger, which can crack and leak combustible products, including carbon monoxide, contaminating your heated indoor air. nswer: No above ground pump, windmill pump, I recommend an annual inspection of any furnace by a solar pump or any other pump can be used on licensed heating professional. this well, until the old pump is removed. As for almost any tank water heater, I have seen water Jerry Holdber heaters last up to 32 years before replacement, but that is Pine Cove Water District rare. I think minerals in the water, how hot the heatertemp is set and how much use it gets, are the main factors at play. A hotter setting will shorten the life of a water uestion: We are being charged a rental fee of heater, but a setting too cool could lead to the buildup of $100 for a propane tank. Is it possible to buy a bacteria that causes legionaires disease if inadvertantly our own tank? ingested. So play it safe either way. On average, I get Mark Monroe around 15 to 20 years on a water heater with a 6-year warranty, but everyone heats and consumes differently. nswer: Yes. I can order you a tank from the Due diligence looking for water or exhaust leaks is the manufacturer. I do not stock them. It can take up key to both safety and especially preventing structural to 10 days for them to be delivered to my place, water damage. then I can schedule delivery to have them installed at Mike Reno your home. Odd sized tanks are more expensive. Your Contractor normal tank sizes are as follows: 250 and 500 gallons. A 160-gallon tank is only $80 or $90 cheaper than a 250-gallon tank. Tank sizes available are 160, 250, 500 uestion: We are weekenders with a property in and 1,000 gallons. lower Pine Cove. There is a well on the propHarry Javaher erty we would use for irrigation purposes but Diamond Valley Union 76
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the motor went bad. We called a company about replacing the pump. The only problem is that the well is now surrounded by AN EXP structures and he couldn’t get his truck to the well to pull it out. So my question is would it be possible to put in an above-ground tank and a windmill pump or solar pump or some kind of pump above ground to fill the storage tank without messing with the existing pump? Mary Monroe
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Photo courtesy Brighton Park Iris to Idyllwild Garden Club, Harold Voorheis Purple Mountain Heath is native to California’s mountain ranges. It likes a rocky subalpine habitat. It flowers June to August. Yuletide Camellia is an evergreen shrub that blossoms in late fall through winter. It can grow to 8 feet tall and wide. Camellia needs regular water until established and prefers filtered sun to shade. It can cope with many different soil types, but prefers rich organic acid soil. Pruning is best done lightly in early spring before buds form.
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MAKE YOUR HOME SAFE FROM FIRE CREATE DEFENSIBLE SPACE IN YOUR YARD In California, fire season is considered to be all year long. Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council, working in cooperation with CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire, has grant funds to help make your property more fire safe by reducing fire hazards in your yard (within 100 feet of structures). The grant funds will pay 65% of the cost to bring your property into compliance with the local fire code. Our project managers are available, at no cost, to help you evaluate your property 951-659-6208. Remember, the most critical person in preparing and protecting your property from fire is not the firefighter; it is you, the property owner. IS YOUR PROPERTY FIRE SAFE? MCFSC PURPOSE • Educate the community on forest health and safety. • Assist government agencies in fire prevention efforts. • Reduce fuel levels through grant programs and volunteer work.
Page 8 - Idyllwild Home & Land Improvement Guide 2012
A short history of the mountains we love By Ernie Maxwell The Emax Almanac (1984)
Park with only the upper terminal of the tramway at Long Valley to penetrate of the few truly wilderness areas left in Southern California.
The San Jacinto Mountains are relatively young. It is estimated the range is about 100 million years old and still rising. Like the High Sierras it is created by an upthrust. According to Dr. Michael Hamilton, [former] director of the University of California James Reserve, the oldest portion of the range is revealed at Red Tahquitz. This coloration indicates the remains of an earlier geological age. Because of location, the San Jacinto Mountains play an important role in Southern California. Rising to almost 11,000 feet, they shield the desert from coastal storms. Mt. San Jacinto, elevation 10,786 feet, can be blanketed in deep snow and ice, while six airline miles to the east Palm Springs basks in warm sunshine. The drop from these peaks to the desert floor constitutes one of the sheerest escarpments on the North American continent. For this reason, several life zones are telescoped in to a small area. The zones go from the true desert to the Canadian-Hudsonian. The westerly slopes facing toward the Pacific Ocean are less steep. Much of the lower elevation is covered with a variety of rugged shrubs, referred to as chaparral by the Spanish. The Idyllwild area lies in the Transition Zone where brush mingles with pines, oaks and cedars.
The Lake Hemet Dam, completed in 1895, was considered the highest masonry dam in the world and there was some speculation that it could supply domestic water for Los Angeles. Note size of hand-shaped boulders. Town Crier file Trails lead into the high country. The main one is Devil Slide Trail, which enters the wilderness area at Humber Park. Improved trails and wilderness campsites are maintained by both the U.S. Forest Service and California Department of Parks and Recreation. At the highest level is Mt. San Jacinto Wilderness State
Settling the land As is true of all histories, the local story contains numerous gaps and some discrepancies. Some popular notions are accepted as fact, such as the story that Robert F. Garner, Sr., obtained the Thomas Ranch in 1905 on the toss of a pair of dice or a flip of a card ... Not necessarily so. Jack Garner said his grandfather never gambled. The truth was that Garner, a San Bernardino stockman, purchased 1,600 acres of patented land for $30,000. He shared Thomas’ interest in livestock raising. Consequently, he allowed the Thomas family to live on the ranch until 1907 in order to dispose of valuable livestock. Included in the deal were other lands for grazing. When Charles Thomas settled in what is now known as Garner Valley shortly after the Civil War, the property was occupied by Cahuilla Indians. Their village was located at Anza. Nearby is the cemetery where both Ramona and Juan Diego are buried. Later, when the first transcontinental railroad was pushed through the southwest, the federal government gave the builders every other section of 11 miles on either side of the tracks. Thus, some of the Thomas property was at least temporarily listed as railroad property.
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Idyllwild Home & Land Improvement Guide 2012 - Page 9 The every-other-secton arrangement meant that much of the high country near Idyllwild was actually owned by the Southern Pacific. Mt. San Jacinto was railroad property, as were other peaks nearby. They were traded for lands the company considered more valuable. The U.S. Forest Service arranged for some trades, which meant consolidation of sections of the San Jacinto Mountains. As a result, the peaks, Tahquitz Valley and Mt. San Jacinto State Park are now in the public domain. Thomas is generally regarded as the first white settler or non-Indian resident of this area. There were some settlers above Banning, and it is likely trappers were in the area years before looking for pelts. The local grizzly disappeared in the late 1880s through trapping, poisoning and the use of firearms. Mrs. Victoria Brooke, one of the last surviving Thomas
Children, said that grizzlies were a problem for livestock people in the early days. She mentioned one old bear – “Old Clubfoot” – that caused considerable damage. The California grizzly became extinct in the 1930s. There is evidence of another settler in what is now the Idyllwild basin, formerly called Strawberry Valley. Beside Tollgate where there was a golf course in the 1930s, a
stone marked the burial site of “R. Garret, died, 1872, at the age of 58.” It was understood that this was the man who refused to pay the freight fee for bringing a plow to the basin from the Hemet or San Jacinto area. He elected to carry the plow up the grade on his back. Stopping to drink the
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See History, next page
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Page 10 - Idyllwild Home & Land Improvement Guide 2012
History Continued from previous page
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cold water from Strawberry Creek, he died on the spot. There are some people who recalled seeing the headstone, but it has apparently disappeared. In 1876, a man by the name of Crawford completed his toll road to the timber country in what is now known as the Idyllwild basin. A group of Los Angeles-area doctors built a large sanitarium that burned to the ground in 1904 The Idyllwild Sanitarium was erected by a group of Los Angeles area doctors 113 years ago. It burned to the ground in 1904 and was replaced by the after only a few years of operation. Idyllwild Inn. The Inn then burned to the ground in 1945. The site was cleared out and made into Eleanor Park, shown at right in 1967. Jo’An’s ResIt was managed by Mr. and Mrs. taurant now occupies this site. Town Crier file photos Rutledge. The sanitarium was designed for tubercular patients, The Strong & Dickinson Realty Company of Los Ange- as a 15-year-old, shanghaied from his Sonoma County but at that time detection of the ailment came too late. les purchased the property in 1912. The acreage included home to work in local mines. Before he died in 1950, Fred related some of his early Consequently, it was discovered that it took more than Pine Cove and Saunders Meadow. clean fresh air for a cure. In 1917, C.L. Emerson, San Jacinto banker, purchased experiences here. He remembered Indians telling him that One pioneer observed that patients came up in buck- 1,000 acres from Strong & Dickenson that surrounded their ancestors fished from rocks overlooking the desert. boards and “were hauled down in boxes.” the Idyllwild Inn. He organized the Idyllwild Company That mean that accounts were handed down from the time that Lake Cahuilla, a body of water extending from the Nevertheless, the San Jacinto Mountains remain important and sold home sites. Santa Rosa Mountains to the Salton Sea Sink, existed. for persons seeking clean, dry air. After World War II, this The lake was fed for centuries by discharges from the area began to boom as more people found it generally In olden times ... “tucked off the beaten path.” One of the characteristics of old-timers is that they Colorado River. It was 100 mile long, 35 miles across at The Idyllwild area was included in 4,200 acres purchased can remember details 50 years earlier, but have a hard its widest point and 300 feet deep. It dried up as the Colorado shifted its course, but old in about 1880 by a group of San Jacinto pioneers. They time recalling where they put their glasses or keys. acquired it from the federal government and Southern Fred Patton was one pioneer who could recall details beach lines can still be noted in the Coachella Valley. See Olden Times, next page Pacific Company. of this mountain when he came here in the late 1890s
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Idyllwild Home & Land Improvement Guide 2012 - Page 11
Olden Times
This rooftop scene is a “Richtfest” which occurred in February of 1973 in Pine Cove. Observing European customs, owners Don Hart, Lynnda Hart, Wanda Alles and Col. George Alles (front row) decorated a tree on the ridgepole of their new home and threw a party for the construction crew. Pictured with the Harts and Alles are Jim Payne (far left, front row), Johnnie Mack and Chuck Clayton (middle row) and Don Price, Bob Thomas, Ben Jones and Phil Hodges (back row). In Europe it’s said that if you don’t give a party for the workmen, they will put strange things in the walls which make funny sounds when the wind blows.
Continued from previous page
Fred’s first job here was to throw rocks at oxen carrying ore from the gold mine near Thomas Mountain. However, gold was not plentiful and Fred turned to splitting cedar logs into posts. Later, be broke horses for Charles Thomas. Thomas and Lucky Baldwin raised blooded cattle and thoroughbred horses in what is now Garner Valley. He recalled the droughts of ’97-’99 when cattlemen burned spines from cacti for livestock forage. Cowboys established summer camps in the high country at Lawes Camp, in Tahquitz Valley and the meadow below Wellman Cienega. Fred remembered when he lost 22 head of cattle from freezing at a point not far above Palm Springs. He could recall clearly the first time he saw Pete Hibbert, veteran Tahquitz Peak lookout, who was an early pioneer. “He was driving a team of mules, one white, one brown.” Lumber in Fred’s early years was sold for $6 per 1,000 board feet and Sam Temple, the man who killed Ramona’s husband, was a teamster hauling lumber to the valley. In his last years, Fred Patton lived in a small cabin beside the Hemet Belle Mine at the edge of Garner Valley. He was certain a vein of rich ore was yet to be discovered. An idea of what Idyllwild was like during the years following World War I was recounted by Harry Wendeklen, local postmaster in the 1930s and ’40s. Following discharge from the Signal Corps in WWI, Harry came to California for his health. He migrated to Idyllwild, which was then recognized as a good place for people with respiratory problems.
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In 1921, he went to work for a small sawmill located in the center of town. The site is now the Fort, but was a large parking lot in the 1980s. A steam boiler system, established in 1889, was used to heat the existing hotel and three cabins, as well as power the saw mill next door. Logs for the mill were hauled in by horse-drawn wagons. Four horses were required to pull the empty wagon. Later, Harry advanced from mill hand to head boiler engineer. A generator was hooked up to boilers to supply electricity for the new buildings in town. In the daytime he stoked the boilers and at night he tended the lights, which were turned off at 10 p.m., when the whole operation was shut down. On Saturday nights, lights remained on until 11 p.m. After Labor Day, electricity was shut off and almost everyone left the Hill. Harry dropped down to Palm Springs
for winter work at the Desert Inn (now the Fashion Plaza in the center of town). The Banning-Idyllwild highway was dedicated three times before it was paved and officially opened for traffic in 1951. The most interesting ceremony took place on May 11, 1947, at Stone Creek amid jingling spurs, high stepping horses, Swiss music, speeches and selection of Queen-ForThe-Day. To add to the event, snow fell the night before, leaving about six inches on the festival grounds, which was the site of Stone Creek Lodge, owned by Dave Frey. The highlight was the arrival of a group of “Pony Express” riders from Banning who made the 22-mile trip in two hours. They were met by a colorful array of riders from the Mt. San Jacinto Horsemen’s Association.
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Page 12 - Idyllwild Home & Land Improvement Guide 2012
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