Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Dr. B.F. Harvey, pioneer Colfax physician, took the stand in his divorce case and denied being an abusive husband and father. He said that, contrary to his wife and daughter’s testimony, he did not habitually threaten and swear at his wife, although he might have let a “confound it” slip out sometimes.

He did admit that he had always “taken his drinks,” but never drank to excess. He even admitted that he had a whiskey just prior to taking the stand that morning.

He also admitted that he once got angry over his daughter’s insistence on keeping a “nuisance” dog, but he solved that problem by killing the dog.

He further admitted that his wife and daughter often locked themselves into an upstairs room when he came home, but it was not because they were afraid of him. It was because “they wished a divorce should be granted.”

From the college beat: Good news arrived from Olympia for the Cheney Normal School (today known as Eastern Washington University).

The House Appropriations Committee approved a bill for rebuilding the main college building, which had burned down in 1912. Final passage was assured.

The $300,000 building would be finished in 1915 and is today known as Showalter Hall.