Rim of The World Historical Society

Title: MOUNTAIN MOVIES: THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937): Okay, America! IT’S SO FUNNYIT HAS Hollywood hystericalBroadway bellowingMain St. mirth-quakedGopher Gulch guffawingAND THAT’S THE TRUTH! So read one of the taglines for this must-see movie from 1937, voted one the 50 greatest comedies of all time in 2006 by Premiere Magazine. Our mountains have been the backdrop for scores of movie productions, going back to the early silent era. The Awful Truth comes from the Golden Age ...of Hollywood and falls into the class of screwball comedies. Before their divorce becomes final, Jerry and Lucy Warriner (Cary Grant and Irene Dunne) both do their best to ruin each other’s plans for remarriage; Jerry to haughty socialite Barbara Vance, she to oil-rich bumpkin Daniel Leeson. Among their strategies: Jerry’s court-decreed visitation rights with Mr. Smith, their pet fox terrier; and Lucy doing her best to sabotage Jerry’s chances with his prospective bride’s family. The director, Leo McCarey, won an Oscar for this film. He cut his teeth directing Hal Roach productions such as the Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang series. The chemistry between Grant and Dunne is magical. The supporting cast, made up of many veteran character actors, is stellar. Even the casting of Mr. Smith went to a veteran actor to Skippy, the pooch who played Asta in the Thin Man series. Dunne had recently come off some successful comedy films; while Grant was poised to make the leap into superstardom. In his book Magnificent Mountain Movies Lee Cozad writes, The Awful Truth is considered to be the movie that made Cary Grant the international superstar he became. Principal filming took place at Columbia’s Gower Gulch Studios, with the Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake areas used for locations. This week’s image is a real photograph of a scene where Grant and Dunne are en route to the Lake Arrowhead cabin where they flirt with having a reconciliation. The Awful Truth is the ultimate in cinema fun and is full of bright performances, and great writing. (And that’s the truth!) By Ken Brafman, Image from AMPAS Collection. To purchase a wide selection of book on local history, check out our new website: https://mtnmuseum.org. See more

Title: Friends of the Crestline Library: The Crestline Friends of the Library is a registered 501c3 non-profit group that volunteers their time and diligently works to raise funding to provide more resources for the Crestline Branch Library. The first meeting of the Friends of the Crestline Library was held on February 29, 1974, when the library was on Crest Forest Drive across from Linder’s Tires. It was a 300 square-foot space much different from the grand lakeside struct...ure that is the current Crestline Library. Attending were Gloria Anderson and Lillian Pascoe and the branch librarian, Veronica (Ronnie) Deasy. The first officers were Ronnie Deasy, interim president; Nancy Brown, secretary; and Madelyne Johnston, treasurer. Gloria Anderson did the newsletter and Madelyne was the telephoner. The book discussion group and the oral history project were both launched in late 1974. The oral histories can be found in the Mountain Museum’s collections. The library moved three times between 1974 and 1986. The first move was to Lake Drive, where the Western Auto store was. The next move in 1979 was to the Forest Shade location next to the tennis courts. Then in 1986, the library moved to the former post office site on Knapp’s Cutoff, which is this week’s real postcard image. Activities in the early years included book sales and Fourth of July parades. The first book sale in 1975 made $100. The most successful sale was in 1987, when the Friends made almost $800. The first Fourth of July parade participated in by the Friends was in 1976 for the Bicentennial. The Friends’ float consisted of a large Uncle Sam’s hat carried on a flatbed truck, surrounded by children in small hats and women wearing long dresses, aprons and bonnets. In 1977 children, dressed as their favorite storybook characters, marched the entire length of the parade, led by Veronica Deasy, our energetic librarian. Contributed by Gloria Anderson, Image from Bill Pumford Collection. See more

Thanks to our members, friend and volunteers for turning out to make our weekend sale a great success. Special thanks to our new members who joined this weekend, as well as, Rhea and Russ for sharing their special knowledge of mountain history with our visitors.

This week’s image is a photo of The Sportsman restaurant in Cedar Glen. The restaurant was opened in 1949 by owner/operators Harold and Lenore Bain. The restaurant was very popular in the area because they had good food, provided quality entertainment, and had a cocktail bar. In the early 1950’s the roads and transportation made it challenging to have a restaurant open all year-round so The Sportsman restaurant, like many others, opened in the April/May timeframe for the summ...er season; similar to other mountain venues such as Enchantment Lodge in VOE and the Skyhouse in Skyforest, The Sportsman was able to provide the quality food and atmosphere required to host organizations for dinner meetings, and for wedding receptions. During the summer season the restaurant offered a dinner menu featuring steaks, chops and chicken and with the featured entertainment it stayed open until 1:00 a.m. A unique characteristic of the restaurant was the display of many of Harold’s trophies from his big game hunts over the years, including a mural of his grand slam of North American big horn sheep. Also noteworthy in the Bain family was their daughter, Sherry, who was an actress in movies and TV during the 1970’s. One of our local residents recalled that The Sportsman restaurant was the spot where many important decisions were negotiated and finalized for Lake Arrowhead during that same tumultuous decade. Mike Connors occasionally visited The Sportsman and talked about his vacation home in North Bay. In 1979 the restaurant was sold to Marce and Donna Jiron, who owned the Tree Top Lodge in Lake Arrowhead, and during the 1980’s the restaurant was operated by Bill and Kathy Jiron. In 1982 for Saint Patrick’s Day the restaurant offered an all-you-can-eat Irish Stew dinner for $5.50. Entertainment was provided by the country rock group Mojo Mountain. A variety of businesses occupied the space following the closing of The Sportsman restaurant. By Bill Pumford, Image from Russ Keller Collection. To purchase a wide selection of book on local history, check out our new website: https://mtnmuseum.org. See more