100 years ago in Spokane: Despite numerous fires and several injuries, S-R declares July 4 celebrations ‘safe and sane’

The headline read “Spokane Fourth Safe and Sane.”

Apparently, the standards for “safe and sane” were different in 1919 than today.

In one incident, a bunch of boys were standing on the roof of the lavatory at Natatorium Park watching the fireworks display. One rocket “fizzled” and whooshed down onto the roof amidst the boys. Then it exploded.

Gordon Peterson, 15, was bloodied when a fragment of the rocket cut right through his coat and shirt and lacerated his back. A half-dozen other boys had their legs “slightly burned” and their clothing torn. Peterson was taken to the hospital, treated for his wound and sent home. The other boys climbed back on the roof and watched the rest of the fireworks display, despite being admonished by various adults.

Elsewhere, an exploding firecracker set fire to the house of Charles d’Urbal, a Lewis and Clark High School teacher. D’Urbal was in the basement when he heard children playing with firecrackers. By the time he got outside, “the whole front of the house was ablaze.” The house was destroyed.

Another house belonging to the Albert Thornton family was destroyed by smoldering fireworks. The family was, fortunately, staying at a relative’s house that night.

There were also numerous grass fires and roof fires — roof fires being especially common in this age of legal rockets. One fire department lieutenant was injured while fighting a roof fire. A suddenly pressurized fire hose whipped around, struck him in the head and knocked him off a ladder. He suffered a head injury and was treated at the hospital.

Despite all of this, The Spokesman-Review declared “there were fewer accidents yesterday than any Fourth of July in recent years.”

Likely the largest of the region’s celebrations was at Natatorium Park, where 35,000 people celebrated at some point during the day. It was declared the biggest attendance at the park in at least a decade.