100 years ago in the Inland Northwest: Summer fun, stubborn snow and a salesgirl’s story made headlines
How big an attraction was Liberty Lake in the summertime?
This should provide a hint: 16 trains ran each way from Spokane to Liberty Lake every day, including one that departed Spokane at 7:40 p.m. and returned at 11:20 p.m., especially “for the convenience of persons desiring to dance at the lake.”
From the Cheney beat: An estimated 3,000 people gathered for Cheney’s annual May Day Festival on May 19, despite an intermittent rain.
The big event was the Mile Parade, so-called because it was a mile long. It included numerous bands and floats, including a spectacular entry from the Geography Club at the Normal School (today’s Eastern Washington University). The float included 150 students in the costumes of 40 different countries.
“The costuming was as true as could be accomplished,” a correspondent said. “Many of the costumes were loaned by the museum and from privately owned collections in Spokane.”
From the romance beat: Spokesman-Review columnist Hannah Hinsdale quoted a Spokane shop girl describing what happened when a wealthy men’s club member asked her on a date.
“Yes, honey, he called me up, but it didn’t go with me,” the shop clerk said. “I used to work in one of them clubs and I know their game. They think because they gets their names in the society column that a poor working girl should sing a Te Deum or have prayers in the churches, if they buys a sandwich at a supper dance or treats me to a Coca Cola. But not for me! When he called up and says, ‘How about a little drive tonight, girl?’ I said I had a date with the Prince of Wales and couldn’t come.”
From the highway beat: A motorcyclist who had just traversed Snoqualmie Pass reported that it still had 8 feet of snow in spots.
A steam shovel had cleared away some sections of the road, piling snow 15 feet high on either side. The deepest snow was about a mile and half east of the summit. The actual summit had 4 feet of snow, because the sun had melted some of it.