Big Bear
No longer just a Bikers hangout, 'Chads' in Big Bear Valley has once again become what it was always meant to be
Submitted by Ghostpainter on Tue, 2008-05-27 19:40. Big Bear | Mountains | Night Life | RestaurantsA late night bar and grill with local bands jammin into the wee hours of the morn.
'Chad’s' has survived the wars, earthquakes, and the ups and downs.
Rollin’ into the Village on a hot summer Saturday afternoon, you can park your Harley in one of the "bikes only" spots 
alongside all the other shiny hogs and join in the showoff brawdness, dancing, and serious pool playing going on inside Chad’s. Over a cold beer you can swap stories with tourists and locals alike about the world situation, the Lakers, or the drought in Big Bear. Chad’s today is truly an international gathering spot, at least by mountain standards.
But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, that was probably the furthest thing from the minds of Fred and Blanche Chadbourne as they arrived in the sleepy little town of Pineknot for their honeymoon in April of 1918. Coming up from the valley heat to the cool air of the upper forests, the newlyweds quicky fell in love with the area and decided they would open a café in "town," which back then was out in the middle of the forest by a man made dam, the area known today as the Village.
Want a quite night for two, snow, bed and breakfast and Mt. life too.....
Submitted by Ghostpainter on Thu, 2008-04-24 11:26. Big Bear | Mountains | Night Life
A friend of mine recently asked me if the old Knickerbocker inn was still open on Big Bear, and I replied , 'call and find out' He did, he went and had a good time and after he got back down the hill he called me to compare notes about the famous Log Cabin Style built Hotel located on the north slope of Fawn Skin. The Inn was built by a gentleman by the name of william Edwin Knickerbocker. But he preferred the nickname Knick. Knick's birth name was William Edwin Knickerbocker, a name far too fussy for his liking, so he called himself Bill Knick. Knick was born in Pennsylvania in 1869 to a Seneca mother and a Dutch father. And while it might stretch the truth to claim he was born with an axe handle in his hand, this would be a minor exaggeration. In truth, Bill Knick was as much of a natural at chopping down trees as trees are to growing in a forest. He spent his childhood gathering fallen timber from Pennsylvania's forests. And by age twelve he was strong enough to handle an axe and began felling trees on his own. A woodsman from the get-go he grew up with splinters in his hands and sawdust in his blood thus earning him the unoffical title of axman of the Mts. As a young man he traveled to California, arriving in the San Bernardino region about 1901. having lived almost his entire life living in the forests of the east, he was much Inclined to Big Tree living, so it was natural for Knick to gravitate to the rugged, tree-rich mountain forests of Big Bear Valley where he found a land worthy of calling his home. Exercising an optimistic approach toward the gold-rich wealth of Holcomb Valley, Knick staked two mining claims. He supported his mining ventures by doing what he did best, working the timber industry felling trees and hauling logs by horse-drawn wagon down the mountain to Banning. In 1904, at age thirty-five, love struck an arrow into Knick and he fell fast and hard into the loving arms of Rose Pollard. They married and settled into a cabin in the nearby town of Doble (Where is Doble?).
The Renaissance Fair Beckons ye all faithful, attendance is mandatory if ye wishes to keep thyine head.
Submitted by Ghostpainter on Fri, 2007-08-10 13:02. Big Bear | Outdoor FunActually I never witnessed any beheadings when I attended the Fair when it was located at the then Blockbuster Pavilion up in Devore, and according to history, neither did fair goers 1,000 years ago....But we were witness to some rather unique Festivities that have managed to transform present day Fairs into 
something akin to a Sodom and Gomorra Fest, just like the olden days of lore and King Arthur and William Campbell and my ancient ancestors, the D'Aults....We were renamed by the Romans, in 1079, who held the old Kingdoms of the UK, into the Halls, Campbell's, Lees and Smiths, so that they would know who was shooting at them.
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