[1][2] Overturf arrived in Central Oregon in 1903 with only sixty cents in cash and several hundred dollars in debt.

He graduated from the university in 1904, and then returned to Central Oregon, settling in the newly established community of Bend.

[1][17][18][19] As member of the Bend Commercial Club, Overturf was one of the initial investors in Bend-Burns road construction project (now a section of U.S. Route 20).

[20] Overturf was also appointed to the Oregon Industrial Accident Commission and served on Bend school board for ten years.

During World War I, he was active in several volunteer groups including the Red Cross and local bond drives.

In 1918, Overturf attended officer training and was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Oregon home guard.

This became a state-wide scandal that undermined Overturf’s credibility and threatened to derail his re-election campaign.

[2][30] In the general election, the other two Republicans (Burdick and Ezell) got the most votes, easily winning two of the three District 21 seats.

[2][31][32] The 1923 legislative session began on 8 January with the loan appraisal scandal still making headlines in the newspapers around the state.

During the session, Overturf was assigned to the roads and highways, forestry and conservation, alcohol traffic, and printing committees.

Just a few days before the end of the legislative session, Overturf and three others were indicted by a federal grand jury for mail fraud associated with the padding veteran loan appraisals.

[30][37] A grand jury investigated the loan irregularities and found cause to bring charges against Overturf and three Bend area real estate agents.

Overturf denied the charges and stated that his removal was the result of Governor Olcott's opposition to an irrigation bill he had sponsored during the 1921 legislature session.

[40][41][42][43] Taking the other side, Bend’s American Legion post voted to support Overturf, recommending that all charges be dismissed.

As a result of the delay, rumors began to circulate that powerful forces in Federal Government were pushing for the charges against Overturf to be dropped.

This prompted Oregon’s new governor, Walter M. Pierce, to formally ask the United States Attorney General for assurances that the case would go forward.

In addition, Overturf testified that he had asked the veterans’ aid commission several times for instructions on how to prepare his appraisal, but had received no answer to his queries.

The jury deliberated for twelve hours before finding Overturf and other defendants guilty of mail fraud.

[53][54][55] Overturf considered running for re-election to his House seat, but the timing of the trial made that impractical.

[60] During World War II, Overturf left Bend to become the government construction inspector at Camp White near Medford in southern Oregon.

During this period, he supervised projects at Seal Rock, Oregon, Deek Park and Hoquiam in Washington state, and Lewiston, Idaho.