50 years ago in Expo history: Why a couple of long-closed roads reopened with the fair’s closure, even though they were nowhere near downtown

Rambo Road and McFarlane Road near Fairchild Air Force Base were reopened, after being closed most of the year for an Expo ’74-related reason: concern about the presence in the area of “foreign dignitaries.”

Expo ’74 did, of course, host large delegations of foreign officials, although in this context “foreign dignitaries” sounds like it might have been a euphemism for “suspected foreign spies.”

County officials said simply that the roads were closed as a “security measure.” Expo hosted a number of Soviet officials in conjunction with the massive Soviet Pavilion.

From 100 years ago: The Spokane Amateur Athletic Club offered to donate a hamburger – but no ordinary hamburger! – to the first player to make a touchdown in the North Central-Lewis and Clark high school football game.

This hamburger would weigh 20 pounds, and would contain “some 10 pounds of tenderloin beef, one quart of oysters, two dozen eggs, two pounds of tomatoes and the remainder in India relish and chopped and shredded onions.”

The butcher who was making it said it “will be prepared the same way they made it for King Louis XIV.”

The bun – 2 feet across and in the shape of a football – would be made by Wilson’s Waffle House.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1970: General Hafez al-Assad becomes Prime Minister of Syria following a military coup.

1971: Battle of Garibpur: Indian troops aided by the Mukti Bahini, Bengali guerrillas, defeat the army of Pakistan.