By DOUGLAS W. MOTLEY
Senior Writer
Continuing our look back at 2024, here are some of the highlights from the second half of the year.
July 4 – What better way to kick off Jamboree Days than having a free community picnic for one and all in the San Moritz Meadow. Hundreds of children and adults swarmed the meadow, beginning at noon, and had a blast until it ended at 5 p.m.
July 11 – Even with the temperature hovering in the 90s, thousands of local residents and visitors from throughout Southern California flocked to Crestline for last week’s annual Jamboree Days celebration. Between June 30 and July 6, tourists arrived and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere offered by Crestline’s Lake Gregory, such as swimming, fishing and relaxing on the beach. Things livened up on Saturday, July 6 when the Jamboree Days parade stepped off at 10 a.m.
July 18 – Sunday Night Flights have taken off again this summer at the Crestline launch site on Playground Drive. The Crestline Kooks is an organized group of paragliders and hang gliders who “want to release positive energy into the world.” Part of their philosophy is, since we are all on earth we may as well love each other.” So, for several Sunday nights each summer they invite their friends and those who want to enjoy the beauty of the mountains with them to share a late afternoon/early evening paragliding show, weather permitting.
July 25 – With an average of 41 vendors each week, the Running Springs Farmers Market is by far the largest on the mountain. It also has the greatest variety of vendors. As soon as visitors walk onto the field next to the Running Springs library, they are met with brightly colored woven blankets and bags, and then there is the shaved ice truck, which had a long line of folks waiting to get cooled off.
August 1 – Lake Arrowhead Community Services District General Manager Catherine Cerri said she was surprised to find the presence of PFAS in the lake. “Our drinking water is so pristine,” she said as she was addressing the Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club, updating them on the testing that has been taking place and the water district’s plan for dealing with what are called “forever chemicals.”
And they were off! The 45th annual Run Through the Pines drew hundreds of participants.
August 8 – The 10th annual Lake Arrowhead Classic Car and Motorcycle Show, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lake Arrowhead, lured 53 classic vehicle owners, as well as hundreds of spectators, to Lake Arrowhead Village on Saturday, July 27. In addition to the cars and motorcycles, there were raffle prizes, drawings and vendors booths. According to Rotary Club President Jay Rynda, all proceeds from the event will go back to the community in the form of services the club provides, such as peace and conflict prevention, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy and economic and community development.
August 15 – Last Saturday’s 45th annual Run Through the Pines 5k and 10k races got underway at 6:30 a.m. at the San Moritz Meadow. Officials said 340 participants had pre-registered; however, that number had swelled to over 550 by race time at 8 a.m. The first contestant to reach the finish line was 16-year-old Zach Verhagn from Neenah, Wisc., who captured first place in the 5k run/walk with a time of 17 minutes.
August 22 – The Arrowhead Lake Association (ALA) celebrated its 50th anniversary last weekend at Tavern Bay Park, with music, beach time and fun at the lake. ALA was organized as a corporation in July of 1974, creating a nonprofit organization for the purpose of providing recreational facilities and activities exclusively for the property owners in the Arrowhead Woods.
August 29 – Friday, August 23 was a day for the Goodwin family to finally smile and celebrate the grand opening of Goodwin & Son’s Market and to remember the tragedy and destruction from the March 1, 2023, snowstorm when the roof collapsed. Following the ribbon cutting watched by 120 members of the Goodwin family, the public was offered a range of food items, including free grilled hot dogs, ice cream cones and food samples from a variety of vendors.
A fire started by an arsonist in Highland quickly made its way up the mountain, leading to the evacuation of the eastern mountain communities.
September 5 – Without fanfare or comment, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on August 20 approved the Lake Gregory Regional Park’s sediment management project and authorized the Director of Public Works – Special Districts to advertise the project for competitive bids. This is reportedly the first major sediment management plan ever developed for Lake Gregory.
September 12 – A small wildfire in the hills above the city of Highland, first reported at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5, had grown to 7,200 acres with no containment by Saturday afternoon, Sept. 7. The blaze, which had its start in the vicinity of Baseline Road and Aplin Street, was dubbed the Line Fire by arriving firefighters. A U.S. Forest Service spokesman told the Alpine Mountaineer on Saturday that approximately 500 personnel had been assigned to the fire and that more will probably be needed.
September 19 – A community meeting to inform residents of progress made on quelling the acrid smoke and flames of the Line Fire was held on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at Crestline’s San Moritz Lodge. The meeting, which got underway at 7 p.m., attracted public officials and firefighters from throughout the region, as well as 200 local residents, eager to learn when the nightmarish scenario would end.
September 26 – Lake Arrowhead’s 49th annual home tour, produced by the Lake Arrowhead Communities Chamber of Commerce, was held on Sept. 21. The home tour is a community-run event, where volunteers work together to show off the best of Lake Arrowhead to visitors and locals alike. From the coffee table-quality printed program of the homes overseen by Tricia DuFour, the excellent selection of homes, the docents who were the hosts and hostesses at each home, the shuttle boat captains and shuttle bus drivers to the dock crew guys and sponsors, each contributed to a successful Home Tour, said chamber Executive Director Robin Bull.
October 3 – Volunteers from the Southern California Mountains Urban Conservation Corps were busy in the meadow at SkyPark at Santa’s Village, planting native plants and seeds to rehabilitate degraded areas in the meadown. Native plants provide essential food resources and habitat for wildlife.
Volunteers rehabilitated the meadow at SkyPark at Santa’s Village by planting native plants.
October 10 – The Crestline Lions Club supports many local groups and vision projects internationally. The motto of Lions International is “We Serve,” and the Crestline Club takes that to heart. The members spend much of their time volunteering for community events such as Jamboree Days and distributing water at every Corks & Hops this and last season. They also distribute a free hot dog lunch each summer and collected for White Cane Day for the Blind last weekend.
October 17 – After careful consideration, a survey of the community and a facilities master plan conducted by a consultant, the Rim of the World Unified School District board of trustees voted on June 27 to put Measure E on the November ballot. The measure is designed to improve school safety and security systems, repair and replace deteriorating roofs, plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical systems, remove asbestos and lead pipes and upgrade, acquire or construct classrooms to support science, math, engineering, arts and skilled trades.
October 24 – Crest Forest Senior Citizens Club president and community motivator Penney Shubnell, who lived in Crestline for 24 years, passed away very suddenly on Friday evening, Oct. 18. Penny had spent the previous day interacting with friends while serving ice cream sundaes at the club’s annual “Stuff Your Spud” fundraiser dinner at Leisure Shores. As one of the most involved seniors on the mountain, Penney led the Crest Forest Seniors for decades.
October 31 – Arrowhead Lake Association President Alan Kaitz announced that ALA and all defendants have reached a settlement agreement regarding the STR (short-term rental) lawsuit. The ALA board of directors noted that, under the preliminary injunction, people who rent residences in Arrowhead Woods for a period of less than 10 days may now access Lake Arrowhead and the reserve strip.
Four men were arrested on fraud charges after dressing in a bear suit and claiming the “bear” had damaged their car.
November 7 – ALA General Manager Mike Pate left the Lake Arrowhead Dam and MacKay Park Advisory Committee stunned as he concluded his report to them on the status of the dam. “This is the largest challenge since the new dam was built in 1974,” Pate told them. As it turns out, the challenge is a directive from the Division of Safety of Dams to develop a way to lower the level of the lake, in case of an emergency.
November 14 – A fire that was likely ignited by downed powerlines on Tuesday, Nov. 5 laid waste to two hillside homes on Chillon Drive in Crestline. Arriving firefighters found one house fully involved with flames. Fanned by a 30-mile-per-hour Santa Ana windstorm gust, the fire spread to an adjacent home. It reportedly took fire crews two hours to knock down the flames that had already consumed both structures.
November 21 – Four Los Angeles area men were arrested on insurance fraud charges on Wednesday, Nov. 13 after falsely claiming a bear damaged the interior of their vehicle. The suspects reportedly claimed that, while parked in Lake Arrowhead on Jan. 28, a bear entered their Rolls Royce Ghost, causing damage to the vehicle’s interior. An investigation by the California Department of Insurance determined that the bear was actually a person wearing a bear costume.
November 28 – Of major concern to local restaurants is the proliferation of food trucks on the mountain. To address those concerns the Lake Arrowhead Communities Chamber of Commerce called a meeting of restaurant owners and county representatives to discuss the issue. Seventeen restaurant owners who attended the meeting were surprised to learn from a representative from the County Environmental Health Department that there is no county ordinance dictating a distance that food trucks must be located from a brick-and- mortar restaurant.
December 5 – The San Moritz Lodge in Crestline and Hootman Center in Running Springs were both bustling with activity on Thanksgiving Day as folks gathered to give thanks with friends and family. Volunteers at both sites prepared the dinners – turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and, of course, pies. The tables at the San Moritz were decorated once again this year by turkeys, cards with heartfelt messages and pumpkins marked with grateful feelings, all created by the Early Act Clubs at Valley of Enchantment Elementary School.
The Mountain Fifes & Drums were one of the many entrants in this year’s Blue Jay Christmas parade.
December 12 – This year’s 45th annual Blue Jay Christmas parade stepped off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 with more than 1,000 men, women and children in attendance. This year’s theme was “Our House is a Very, Very, Very Fine House.” Leading the parade was a colorful Uncle Sam, peddling an old-fashioned penny-farthing (high wheeler) bicycle, which was followed by a procession of some 45 floats, unique vehicles, bands, animals and marching units.
December 19 – For many years, Holland Lowe, executive director of Operation Provider, has put on a truly magnificent dinner on Christmas Day with the help of a flock of elf volunteers. On Dec. 25, folks are invited to come to the Elks Lodge in Rimforest and enjoy a sumptuous meal while visiting with neighbors and friends.
December 26 – The goldspotted oak borer, which made its entrance into California in San Diego, was spotted in Crestline in September. Kayla Thompson, a forestry specialist, educated the Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club on how to spot the GSOB’s presence and how affected trees can be treated. Her organization, the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District, will survey homeowners’ trees to detect the presence of the pest.
0 Comments