100 years ago in Spokane: A big crew victory for UW spurred editorial praise from the Chronicle

The Spokane Daily Chronicle splashed the following banner headline across its front page: “Washington Wins Big Crew Race!”

The oarsmen from the University of Washington beat out powerhouses from Columbia University, Cornell University, the U.S. Naval Academy and others to win the intercollegiate rowing crown at the Varsity Regatta on the Hudson River.

Rowing was a prestigious college sport in that era, and an important source of regional pride. A Chronicle editorial said that “the entire Northwest is indebted” to the university and its team.

The Chronicle employed a correspondent to describe the action. The Washington crew led nearly all the way to win “by a safe margin.”

From the memorial beat: The Grand Army of the Republic convention was being held in Spokane, attended by thousands of veterans.

The culminating event was a parade and the presentation of the statue of Abraham Lincoln – a gift from the city to the Grand Army of the Republic.

The statue itself was not present for the dedication – it was still being sculpted by the artist, Alonzo Victor Lewis of Seattle. Funds were still being raised. The dedication was performed at the site where the statue was to stand at its completion, at Main Avenue and Monroe Street.

It was finally installed in 1930, and still stands today.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1914: Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie are assassinated by Bosnian-Serb Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, setting off a chain of events that led to World War I.