100 years ago in Spokane: Chronicle editor top pick to referee Rose Bowl; Great Northern sued for fire that destroyed town

George Varnell, sports editor of the Spokane Daily Chronicle, was likely to have a key role on the field at the Rose Bowl – as referee.

This was nothing new for Varnell. He was a well-known football official, and he had refereed the previous two Rose Bowls. He was No. 1 on the list to referee again when the University of California was to meet Washington & Jefferson.

From the court beat: Several residents of Milan, which is about a mile east of the current Riverside High School in northern Spokane County, were suing the Great Northern Railway for, essentially, burning down the entire town.

A trial began on four damage suits from the July disaster. The attorney for the plaintiffs said that sparks and debris from a passenger train engine ignited the grass near the tracks.

“We will show how many fires were set by the railroad,” said the attorney. “… As a matter of fact, the fire started in two places near the barn after the train went by. The entire town was practically wiped out.”

About 16 buildings were leveled in the fire, including the post office, hotel and town hall, according to previous Spokane Daily Chronicle coverage.

From the weather beat: Spokane’s movie theaters were scrambling to find replacement films when their new films failed to show up in time.

Floods and washouts on the coast and in the Cascades had delayed many trains. Train schedules were in chaos.

Among the movies that failed to arrive were “The Invisible Divorce,” “Making the Grade” and “For Those We Love.”