This day in Expo history: Despite drop in crowds, fair on track to break event, general manager said

Expo ’74 crowds were down the last week of August, but general manager Petr Spurney said to not be alarmed.

He said the drop in attendance was expected. The tourist trade always slows at the end of summer and local people were headed out of town for the last three-day weekend fling.

From now on, he said, “We will have some big weekends and some days with only 10,000 attendance.”

For most of the summer, Expo attendance had been strong, topping 30,000 per day. August as a whole had also been strong, with paid attendance estimated at about 1 million.

As of Aug, 29, the fair’s total attendance was a healthy 3.7 million. Spurney said that for the fair to break even, it would need to average 13,300 paid admissions per day, a goal that was easily attainable.

September’s estimated attendance was looking solid, Spurney said, based on hotel and motel reservations.

From 100 years ago: Martha Blglow, 7, a “homeless waif,” was adopted by a rich Spokane businessman in a development that The Spokesman-Review compared to a heartwarming movie story.

Darrell D. Churchill had an auto business at Third and Post. He had first heard about Martha when she was 3, and found she had no funds for her care. He “made provisions for her.”

Now, he had successfully filed for adoption and told the judge that he wanted her to inherit his $50,000 estate.