One man who was very important to the valley at this time was Stanbridge A. Skinner, or "Dad" Skinner, as everyone called him. "Dad" Skinner wanted people in Los Angeles to hear about Big Bear Valley. He started the Chamber of Commerce for the valley in 1919. A chamber of commerce is a group of business people who get together in hopes of bringing businesses and tourists to their area. "Dad" Skinner was a high school teacher in Redlands who spent his summer vacations in Big Bear and felt it was his real home. He put ads in newspapers in Los Angeles telling everyone about the beautiful valley. He organized trips for people from Los Angeles and San Bernardino to Big Bear on the Rim of the World Highway. He even did commercials on radio about Big Bear.
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Another way people heard about the valley was through motion pictures or movies. Many early silent films were made in Big Bear Valley. The valley was close to Hollywood and offered forest scenery and real snow. Some studios in Hollywood even built movie sets in the valley that they used over and over again. Today, at Cedar Lake Camp, the mill and several of the other buildings were actually movie sets at one time. Movies and television shows are still filmed in Big Bear.
1. What is a resort?
2. Why did few people live in Big Bear year-round?
3. Why is "Dad" Skinner important to the valley?
4. What is a Chamber of Commerce?
5. Why did motion picture companies like to use Big Bear as the setting for their movies?
Visit, call (909 866-4607), or contact the Big Bear Lake Chamber of Commerce on the Internet and find out how they encourage people to come to the valley today.
Make a poster or commercial to encourage people to visit Big Bear.
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