100 years ago

February 15, 1917 — Alfalfa people have recently organized a development club, of which J.M. Roberts is president and Hale Walker, secretary. Its membership embraces the entire neighborhood and that have already set the wheels in motion for the development of their locality. One of the important items was to place themselves in connection with the outside world. Redmond has long been their Railway station and trading point and, very naturally, they turned in this direction for help in this important matte rand found that the business men of this city stood ready to aid them in every way. Several meetings were held and on Monday evening Messrs. Dobson, Miller, Lynch, Tift, and the editor of the Spokesman were present at the final meeting when the final organization was perfected and the money paid in for the construction of the line, which will run northwest to a connection with the Powell Butte Redmond Line, at or near E.S. Barnard’s place, and thence along the highway to town. The total lines to be built will aggregate about 27 miles and it starts with 19 subscribers who bear the expense equally.

75 years ago

February 12, 1942 — Prohibition of jaywalking and enforcement of the edict took the major portion of the city council meeting time Tuesday evening. Mayor W.F. Hardison and the city council were unanimous in their decision to put a sudden and complete stop to the dangerous yet common practice of crossing Redmond’s downtown streets between intersections. Chief of Police Athel Dudley and his force have been instructed to open the campaign against jaywalking with warnings, yet with full authority to make arrests if the warnings are not heard. With approximately 40 cinder trucks in continuous shuttle operation on Sixth Street, the danger of jaywalking has increased to tremendously, Mayor Hardison said, and urged all citizens to comply with the regulations that only crosswalks at the various intersections be used. At present there are no painted lines indicating crosswalks, but these will be much in evidence as soon as the streets are cleaned thoroughly enough to do the job, Mayor Hardison indicated.

50 years ago

February 16, 1967 — J.R. Roberts received the state’s first award for the distinguished service to aviation when the Oregon State Board of Aeronautics met in Redmond Tuesday to honor Oregon’s “Mr. Aviation.” William F. Maddron of Eugene, chairman of the board, presented the certificates to Roberts at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon in the 86 Corral Coin Room. Approximately 70 were present, including the state board, friends from Portland and members of the Bend Chamber of Commerce. Chamber President Clay Shoun introduced Mayor Gus Meyers, who welcomed the guests and introduced members of Redmond Airport Commission, of which Roberts has been secretary-treasurer since its formation in 1946. He then turned the meeting over to Maddron, who is a former Redmond Resident. “We all aspire to a worthwhile life,” Maddron said in his brief talk, “And we are here today to honor a man who has proved his long-established worth in the community and the state. He should feel a great sense of fulfillment.”

25 years ago

February 12, 1992 — The search for a new city hall site goes on. Friday’s meeting of the Redmond City Hall Site Selection committee drew 15 interested civic leaders. Ideas swirled, efforts were made to probe the misty future and discussion bubbled, but the siting committee still has a great deal of work cut out for it. But, the group could not reach a consensus on how to approach the site selection process. City Manager Joe Hannan will bring information to this week’s meeting on three tactics advocated by members of the group. Hannan will contact other cities that have gone though the process to see what can be learned from their experiences. In addition, he will try to formalize ideas on suggested conceptual goals and pencil out the three proposed sites. Sites proposed for a new city hall building include an expansion at the present site, possible use of Hill School when it becomes outgrown and outmoded, and the fairgrounds.