100 years ago in Spokane: Vaudeville superstar Al Jolson was coming to town for a show

Many theatrical road shows were on the way to Spokane, including “Sinbad,” starring one of the biggest stars in the nation, Al Jolson.

Meanwhile, local thespians were busy creating their own production. The Associated Collegiate Alumnae club of Spokane was rehearsing George Bernard Shaw’s play, “Arms and the Man,” for a production at the Auditorium Theater.

The city’s Drama League was collaborating on this production. The league “has foregone its annual dramatic program and is aiding in the production of this play in every way.” Sara Truax Albert was the director.

From the fishing beat: Fly fishing wasn’t just for men anymore, an article in The Spokesman-Review said.

“These days, girls, fish-girls, own rods and reels and keep in trip their own tackle. … Just consider the delicacy of the Whirling Dun or the Royal Coachman and the workmanship of fine leaders and woven silk lines, compared to a golf club.

“These charms, not to mention nature’s contributions, make fly fishing particularly attractive and suitable to women.”

On this day

(From Associated Press)

1945: A day after Adolf Hitler took his own life, Admiral Karl Doenitz effectively became sole leader of the Third Reich with the suicide of Hitler’s propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels.

2011: President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden during a U.S. commando operation.