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The Big Bear Cowboy

  The history of the cowboys in the Big Bear area is intertwined with cattle ranching in the valley. There were several large cattle ranches including the I.S. Ranch in west Big Bear Lake, the Shay Ranch at Shay Meadows, and the Hitchcock Ranch in Holcomb Valley. The grazing began in the San Bernardino Mountains around 1857 with both cattle and sheep. Gus Knight from Knight’s Camp, Jim Erwin from Erwin Lake and Will Talmadge, who owned lakefront property, were among the valley’s first ranchers. Cattle were … [Read more...]

Big Bear Celebrity Sightings

I’ve never been a “star-chaser” and I don’t subscribe to any tabloids. But the other night I was dining with friends at the local Big Bear restaurant that used to be owned by character actor Andy Divine and the conversation turned to celebrity sightings. Specifically, Big Bear celebrity sightings. My first celebrity sighting occurred just after I had just moved to Big Bear in the early ‘90’s. I was skiing by myself at Snow Summit and was waved up from the singles line to join a half full chair of other skiers. … [Read more...]