By DOUGLAS W. MOTLEY
Senior Staff Writer
Historian Rhea-Frances Tetley – a co-founder of the Rim of the World Historical Society – was invited by the Big Bear Valley Historical Society (BBVHS) to be their guest speaker before the fires attacked the mountain last week. Tetley, the author of four books on the history of both Crestline and Lake Arrowhead, gave a PowerPoint illustrated talk on the history of Crestline.
Tetley has lived full time in the Crestline area since 1976 and has family history with Crestline as her great-grandfather, Frank A. Tetley Sr., developed Rim of the World Park Valley of Enchantment over 100 years ago in 1923. He was also the state highway commissioner who cut the ribbon on the opening of the paved High Gear Road in 1933 (now known as Highway 18).
In her presentation in Big Bear, Tetley covered the history of Crestline from the Spanish era in the Cedarpines Park area of the community (1840s) through the logging era (1850-1890s) when the national forest was established. The early 20th century, with the county buying the arrowhead reservoir road, led to the beginning of the community after the establishment of the Crestline Post office in 1919, into the early 1920s.
She told about the slow growth of the community as a vacation destination, the growth of businesses, how it was a place families came to during the Depression. During World War II, she explained, Crestline was a remote barracks location for the San Bernardino Air Force Base with numerous busses scheduled to transport workers to and from the base, using those already built vacation homes to house the military personnel.
After the war, Crestline re-attracted many of those who had been living in Crestline during the war. The community flourished, becoming a vacation destination, with arcades and, of course, Lake Gregory. The popularity of the Club San Moritz brought many new property owners and activities to the area. Crestline has faced numerous adversities and grown as a community together.
After the talk she answered questions from the BBVHS members on the history of Crestline, and signed several of her books, including Images of America-Crestline and Crestline Chronicles.
Tetley has been involved with the Mountain History Museum in Lake Arrowhead since its opening and is currently the secretary of their board of directors. The free museum, located at 27176 Peninsula Drive, is usually open on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
However, the museum was closed this past weekend due to the poor air quality created by the Line Fire. They also postponed the two events scheduled for the weekend – a tunnel tour and the Celebrity and History Arrowhead Queen tour of Lake Arrowhead. The new dates for those two tours have not yet been rescheduled. For more information, call the museum at (909) 744-8625 or see their website at www.mtnmuseum.org.
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