MILEPOSTS #1046

By Tom Powell – Guest Columnist, Image from Bill Pumford

TITLE: RIM OF THE WORLD HISTORICAL SOCIETY  35TH ANNIVERSARY – PART I

This is the story of how the Rim of the World Historical Society came to be. In 1986 Bonnie Rivera and I ran as co-candidates for the title of Honorary Mayor of Crestline. At this time candidates won by accumulating the most votes, which were purchased for $1 apiece. The money raised through voting went to charitable organizations. Unlike today, in 1986 the polling places were generally inside the many bars and lounges in Crestline. One of the requirements for running for Mayor was that you must have a plan to improve the Crestline area. Bonnie and I decided to establish a historical society if we won. We campaigned heavily throughout the community with letters to the editor about the importance of having a historical society and fundraisers. Other candidates that ran were Bill Duffy, Dick Allen, and John Cripes. With nearly $3600 in votes, we won, and later in 1986 we kept our promise and established the Crestline Historical Society. The initial meetings were held upstairs in the Rim Bowling Lanes on Lake Drive. The name Crestline for the historical society lasted only one meeting when it was suggested that Crest Forest Historical Society would be more inclusive. The early members of this historical society included Pauliena LaFuze, Rhea-Frances Tetley, Edna Fiore, Dorothy Jewell, Ruth and David Press, and Lural Shafer. The historical society had no budget and depended on contributions and fundraisers. The first project of the society was to create and sell Crest Forest Historical Society calendars with historic photos for each month. This week’s image shows the 1988 calendar cover (a homestead on Gunther Ranch). Many of the photos used in the early calendars came from Don Foster, a well-known cab driver in Crestline. This story will be continued next week.

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