By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
The Rim of the World Historical Society will hold its annual Independence Day ice cream social this weekend on July 5 at the Mountain History Museum.
That is the day Lake Arrowhead is celebrating by shooting its annual fireworks show from a barge in the middle of the lake on Friday at 9 p.m. by Jason Pope and his crew. Pope is a fireworks technician and Crestline resident, who enjoys doing hometown shows. One of the first fireworks shows he ever saw was from a deck overlooking Lake Gregory as a child.
To complement Lake Arrowhead’s celebration, the museum at 27176 Peninsula Drive at Rhine Road will host their free ice cream social in their patio area from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Perhaps the antique airplane flyovers of Lake Arrowhead at 2 p.m. may be visible this year from the museum, too, However, you will be able to see the museum’s many displays on Lake Arrowhead Village, the building of the dam and more, while enjoying their ice cream as well.
On July 6, the museum will have its Crestline bus in the Jamboree Days parade, with special guest Smokey Bear riding in the bus, along with some of the museum’s docents. Smokey will be promoting his free birthday party and inviting everyone to attend his party at the museum on Sunday, July 28. The central display at the museum this summer is all about Smokey and his forest friends, reminding everyone that forest animals are drastically affected during a wildfire.
Come to the museum during his birthday party to meet Smokey and have a selfie taken with him. There will be Smokey activities and crafts, too, that day for the kids. This display, which was made possible by the loan of local forest animals by the San Bernardino County Museum, is an opportunity for everyone to see local forest animals closer than is possible in daily life. This central display is available for viewing every day the museum is open this summer.
Other displays in the museum are an extensive display on fires with a map of fires that have ravaged the mountaintop over the past 70 years and a timeline of them by year. Next to the fire display is a display on the National Forest made by former USFS forest rangers who volunteer at the museum. It shows many signs from over the decades and shows another large forest map locating the ranger station locations.
This season an expanded display on the history of Crestline showcases its numerous communities, highlighting Skyland, which was originally believed would be the center of town with its mountaintop location and views. The easy access to Skyland was by way of the incline railway. It had established the first western-end mountain post office in 1907 with the Incline post office and Leo Maloney’s Skyland movie production studio, plus its decades old and popular campground and the Skyland Lodge. Other locations showcased are the building of Lake Gregory, the Club San Moritz, Heart Rock, Cedarpines Park, Lake Gregory Village and Crestline Village, plus pictures of other parts of town.
The free Mountain History Museum is open Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. and weekends from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. throughout the summer and into fall. The museum has air conditioning. Free parking is available on both sides of the museum and the museum is handicapped-accessible and child friendly.
The museum is available for group tours, school reunions, youth club tours, reunions and other events by advance arrangements by calling (909) 744-8625 and asking for Cindy. These visits may include a guided tour of the museum by a docent or just a self-guided museum visit. Call for details or see their website.
The museum is all volunteer run, and everything in the museum is donated. If you have anything of a historical nature, they accept donations. Call (909) 744-8625 for additional information about the museum and its events. Visit their website, www.Mtnmuseum.org, for the other events they are hosting this summer and fall.
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