50 years ago in Expo history: Attendance dipped as expected as school restarts

Expo ’74 had it lowest attendance to date – 14,822 – on the day after Labor Day.

Officials were not alarmed, however. They had expected attendance to drop off when school came back into session, and they predicted that attendance would pick up on the weekends.

A survey of motel and hotel reservations indicated “good attendance at the fair the balance of the month.”

Earlier, officials had estimated that Expo would need to average around 13,300 per day for the rest of the season for the fair to break even.

In other Expo news, Boots Randolph, the saxophonist with the hit tune “Yakety Sax,” was booked to play a free show later in the month at the Floating Stage.

He was to be joined by vocalist James H. Horner.

Their performance was sponsored by two large carpet manufacturers and a Spokane carpet distributor, and would be followed by a reception including “some 600 interior designers, floor-covering retailers and buyers in the Spokane area.”

From 100 years ago: Tony Ihan sued Margaret Canon for $5,000 because she “failed to fulfill her solemn promise to marry him.”

He claimed she made that promise in March, but in July, she changed her mind.

In his suit, he mentioned that he was “still willing to marry her,” if she wanted to go that route.