50 years ago in Expo history: The fair couldn’t have happened without help from a prominent rail company honored with a shiny new plaque

A large bronze plaque was unveiled at Expo ’74 honoring Burlington Northern railroad.

What did Burlington Northern do to deserve this honor?

The railroad had made a “gift of land to make the fair site possible.”

The plaque read: “Land on Havermale Island was presented to the people of Spokane by Burlington Northern, Inc., to serve as the center of Expo ’74. The clock tower of the former Great Northern Railway passenger depot built in 1890 now stands as a monument to the railroad industry and its role in the development of Spokane and the Pacific Northwest.”

The Burlington Northern CEO and chairman of the board was present for the ceremony. He congratulated Spokane for successfully staging an event that he had formerly considered “beyond the comprehension of most intelligent people.”

From 100 years ago: The Chronicle continued a series of interviews with Oluf J. Opsjon, a Dishman man who claimed that Norsemen carved messages on the rock cliffs of the Columbia River during expeditions beginning in the year 1010.

The carvings, he said, had unfortunately been defaced by vandals who had shot at and chipped away some of these rock “messages.”

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1863: President Abraham Lincoln issues an “eye-for-eye” order to shoot a rebel prisoner for every Black prisoner shot.

1945: After delivering the atomic bomb across the Pacific, cruiser USS Indianapolis is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-58. Approximately 880 crew die, many by shark attack.