50 years ago in Expo history: A recreation of tribal fishing was planned for the Spokane riverfront as part of the big fair

Several area tribes announced plans to have an encampment along the Spokane River at the Expo ’74 site.

They said they planned to erect tepees, longhouses, cooking pits and drying racks. It would recreate the old salmon camps that were common on the river for thousands of years.

There would, of course, be significant differences. The tribes would not be actually camping, since Expo rules forbade anyone from staying overnight at the fair site. Also, they would not be actually catching salmon, since the runs died out when the dams were built downstream. But the tribes would create a living demonstration of their “cultural reliance on nature.”

“What more fitting time could be chosen than an environmental exposition for the presentation of a lifestyle based on harmony with nature?” said Sonny Tuttle, an organizer.

From 100 years ago: A Burns Detective Agency operative said that an arrest in Spokane uncovered evidence of a huge nationwide check forgery ring.

Sam Cohn, alias Ben Klaz, attempted to pass a check at a Spokane bank with the forged signature of a Spokane man.

Cohn was arrested and subsequently confessed, and he gave the names of many others in the check forgery ring. He said a Chicago man named Aaron Mosheik was said to be the “leader and master forger.”

Chicago police were negotiating with Spokane authorities for the return of Cohn to stand trial there.