June 26, 1975: The Crook County Courthouse clock was installed in the courthouse Tuesday after a lengthy renovation process that “literally brought the clock back to life.” Pictured on the left is a side view of the movement. On the right, Ken Dickinson of the Alder Street Clock Shop in Portland puts the finishing touches on one shaft that turns the hands on the exterior of the clock. (Central Oregonian file photo)

100 years ago

June 25, 1925

Smoldering in the walls or under the floor unnoticed, a fire broke out in the Masonic building Monday night, which all but wrecked the plant of the Central Oregonian. The fire in itself did but little damage. But it first attacked a pile of news containing more than a ton of paper and filled the room with smoke. The fire department responded promptly and did excellent work, but the smoke prevented a plain view of the fire and  when enough water had been poured into the room to permit a view of the interior, all our fine stock of paper had been ruined by smoke and water, the presses were reduced to wrecks and the linotype had suffered a bath that makes it a very poor producer for the next few months. The loss will run close to $10,000, despite earlier estimates of lesser amounts.

The smoke had scarcely settled when a prompt offer of assistance came from the Bend Bulletin, and it is through that courtesy that the present issue reaches our readers on time. Prompt offers of assistance came in turn from the Bend Press, the Redmond Spokesman, Pacific Stationery & Printing Co., Zellerback Paper Company and the Portland Telegram.

75 years ago

June 29, 1950

“Don’t throw your garbage over some cliff – it might cost you $100!” That’s the warning given out by the Crook County Court.

Now that the new county dump is in use near Ochoco Dam, the county officials will begin prosecuting violators of the “no dumping” regulations. The new dump ground is on Ochoco Irrigation District land just north of the dam. Highway signs mark the spot plainly, Judge Asa W. Battles declared.

Arrangements for the dumping privileges were made through the Ochoco Irrigation District office.

The City Sanitary Service will continue using the present dump grounds for a short time. Then, it will also use the county grounds, it was announced by A.W. Hohnstein.

50 years ago

June 26, 1975

The Crook County Courthouse clock, the county’s official Bicentennial project has been returned to Prineville and installed in the courthouse in full working order.

The project to renovate the 64-year-old tower clock was adopted by the Bicentennial Committee locally and was one of the few such projects in the state to be granted full funding by the State Bicentennial Commission.

Citizens in the community assisted the local committee, headed by Nellie and Doris Breese, in taking the clock apart and shipping it to the Alder Street Clock Shop in Portland for the repair work.

The clock had not run for two or three years, and according to Ken Dickinson of the Alder Street Clock Shop, it was a blessing that it quit running, or it would have been destroyed beyond repair.

25 years ago

June 22, 2000

What could be the first step in merging two national forests in Central Oregon will be taken this week … the leadership of both the Ochoco National Forest and Deschutes National Forest will be combined under one forest supervisor.

The decision was made on the new leadership model for management of BLM and Forest Service public lands in Central Oregon, according to a USFS/BLM spokesman. Officially known as the Central Oregon Initiative Leadership Organization Plan, the idea is to collaborate across the three units involved: both the Ochoco and Deschutes National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management, Prineville District.