50 years ago in Expo history: The company proposed to run amusements at the fair was under scrutiny

The Washington State Gambling Commission delayed action on an Expo ’74 gambling license request.

Gambling? At Expo?

Not exactly. This was actually about carnival-style amusement games planned in the fair’s midway area.

Some midway games were covered under gambling laws, since they awarded prizes. The reason for the delay, however, was not over concern about gambling. Some members of the commission were concerned about the firm that had been chosen to run the amusement arcades.

The Naquin Corp. said it would receive no financial interest from the amusement games. Yet Naquin was also running five restaurants on the site, and those restaurants were partially backed by a company called Sportservices, Inc., which had been convicted of racketeering in New York.

The gambling commission said they needed more info on Naquin before making a decision.

From 100 years ago: John Strandberg, whose foot was torn off in a lumber mill accident, was doing reasonably well after having his leg amputated, but he expressed disappointment that “God was not given enough time to fulfill His promise of giving him a new foot.”

Standberg, a Christian Scientist, had opposed the amputation because he believed his foot would grow back. Doctors operated on him after a commission declared him of unsound mind.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1945: President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office and Vice President Harry Truman is sworn in as 33rd president of the United States.