Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Heavy snow and rain arrived in the Inland Northwest, with tragic results.

A massive avalanche came crashing down into the mining town of Mace, Idaho, killing at least one man and possibly more. James Flaherty was walking from his cabin to a spring not far away when the avalanche swept him away. His partner, Lum Kelly, was eating dinner in the cabin. He saw the slide approaching and yelled to Flaherty. But the edge of the avalanche caught Flaherty and buried him under 40 feet of debris.

The slide buried the Northern Pacific railroad tracks, and the town of Mace was cut off. Rescue crews organized in the town’s boarding houses were working feverishly to find any more victims or survivors. Anybody who had been walking on the main road between Mace and Burke would have been in danger.

The snow had turned to rain, and more slides were occurring with alarming frequency. Many people in Mace had abandoned their homes and were taking refuge in the town schoolhouse.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1922: Vladimir I. Lenin proclaimed the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. …  1972: The United States halted its heavy bombing of North Vietnam.