July 3, 1975: Busily preparing for next week’s Crooked River Roundup is Queen Tammy Wolverton and her court, Jill Welch (left) and Susan Bussey (right). This year’s activities begin with Pari-Muteul horse racing on July 9, running for four days. The rodeo begins Saturday, July 12 and wraps up the following day. (Central Oregonian

100 years ago

July 2, 1925

Two genuine, typically Southern stills, manufactured from copper, were seized by S.W. Yancey, sheriff of Crook County, assisted by Deputy Ray Putnam and Orville Yancey Monday morning at 11:30, on Lawson Creek, approximately 12 miles above Prineville. The capacity of the larger still was about 60 gallons and the smaller one over 30 gallons. About 150 gallons of mash, together with the two stills, were brought to Prineville and are now stored in the local courthouse. Between 15 and 20 gallons of unfinished product were found.

Mit Leathers, a Southerner, although not well known in Prineville, had been a resident of this section of the country for several years, claimed the ownership of the stills. He was arrested and bound over to the circuit court. He is at liberty on a $1,000 bail. His companion escaped on horseback.

75 years ago

July 6, 1950

Prineville had a grandstand seat at a flying saucer show Monday afternoon – until Faye Wilson went home to get his high-power binoculars. A mysterious white object in the south, just a trifle east of Main Street, had a knot of people gawking at the sky from shady vantage points on the west side of Main between Second and Third. Some could “see” more than others, and there was much learned discussion of flying saucers until Mr. Wilson got back to the C&E Men’s Wear store with binoculars.

Focused on the flying saucer, the glasses clearly revealed a drifting balloon, glinting in the sunlight.

50 years ago

July 3, 1975

Economic conditions of the state of Oregon show signs of strength, though gradual, according to Ray Broughton, an economist and vice president of the First National Bank of Oregon.

Speaking to 35 chamber members and guests, Broughton stated that the turning point for the national economy is here or at least near. Broughton related national trends to Crook County in discussing the poor record of growth in the nation’s gross national product.

“The record on the gross national product has not been good,” according to Broughton. He feels that 67% of the growth of the economy has come from government purchases, while the real economy recorded one third of the total growth stated for the country.

25 years ago

July 4, 2000

It is time once again for the city to produce its annual Quality Water Report … and once again, people depending on the city’s water system are assured that their drinking water is safe and meets federal and state requirements.

The city routinely monitors the drinking water it supplies to Prineville residents and once a year produces an in-depth report. The most recent covers the period from January 1996 to December 1999.