100 years ago: John Philip Sousa performs at Lewis and Clark High School; man at center of U.S. Supreme Court citizenship case prepares for marriage

John Philip Sousa, “the March King,” and his famous 88-piece band thrilled crowds at two concerts at the Lewis and Clark High School Auditorium.

Although Sousa was hampered somewhat from a recent horse-riding accident, “his baton brought forth music of quality seldom heard in Spokane.”

Among the numbers was his famous piece, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

From the matrimonial beat: “Hindu Will Wed Spokane Woman,” declared a front page headline in the Spokane Daily Chronicle.

Dr. Bhagat Sigh Thind and Mrs. Inez Marie Pier Buelen were planning a ceremony “on High Drive at a spot to be selected.”

Thind was a teacher at the Society of Truth Seekers. The ceremony would be performed by the pastor of the Fellowship Society, where Dr. Thind had been giving a series of lectures.

“This is not an inter-racial marriage, as some people may think,” Thind said. “I am a member of the Aryan or white race, although born a Hindu. Although not a full-fledged American, I served in the American forces during the World War and am a graduate and post-graduate of the University of California.”

Earlier in the year, Thind had been denied United States citizenship in a case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. At the time, most Asians were excluded from becoming citizens. Thind argued that having been born in India that he was white, according to a profile from the National Parks Service. But in the case, United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, the court ruled unanimously that Indians did not qualify as white. Indians were denied citizenship until 1940, though Thind obtained it in 1935 as a result of being a military veteran, according to the profile.

Mrs. Buelen said she planned on “making my life work that of helping Dr. Thind in his truth seeking.”

From the business beat: The city’s north side business district, centered on Monroe Street and Broadway, adopted a new slogan: “North Side business center bids you enter.”

That slogan was chosen out of 3,000 entries in a contest sponsored by the Monroe-Broadway Commercial Association.

The winner, Mrs. A.J. Hawkins, received a prize of $20 in gold, a ton of coal and $5 box of candy.