Jim Kershner’s this day in history
From our archives, 100 years ago
A 14-year-old Spokane boy wrote the following shocking note to his mother and placed it under a rock by the roadside near Hauser, Idaho: “I bought a gun from Wealch and am going to shoot myself up in the woods. I have 10 cents left, goodbye, for I will never see you again. For any more information, ask Warren McNeeley. Goodbye, Eugene.”
Apparently, Eugene had absconded with $25 he stole from his mother, went to Hauser, spent most of it, and then was then so overcome by remorse that he decided to end it all rather than face the consequences.
Fortunately, he confided in an adult friend in Hauser, who hid the gun and convinced Eugene that his larceny was a small matter.
Eugene returned home, shamefaced but intact.
From the welfare beat: All of the city’s social organizations met with city and county officials to come up with a plan to deal with unemployed men and needy families for the winter.
One representative from Spokane’s Jewish community said that no aid was necessary for his community. He told the commissioners that they considered it their duty to look after their own people and that they “would continue to do so, without a dollar of public aid.”