50 years ago in Expo history: Someone mined a $100 gold nugget as part of fair festivities – and had to throw it back
One Expo ’74 visitor hit the jackpot in the Folklife Festival’s gold-panning area, uncovering a $100 gold nugget.
The finder was not allowed to keep it – apparently, gold-panning was for entertainment purposes only.
“The nugget was left where it was found and the way things are going, Folklife officials think it will be found again sometime this week,” The Spokesman-Review reported.
In other Expo news, attendance was clearly beginning to decline. Thursday’s attendance was 11,629 – the lowest since the fair opened.
The average daily attendance from opening was 29,890.
From 100 years ago: A rollicking “jollification” – i.e., party – was in the works to celebrate Spokane-Hillyard consolidation.
The date was set for Oct. 11. It would include a “parade through Spokane streets and back to the railroad suburb, and a big street dance in the evening at Hillyard.”
The event was organized by the Hillyard Chamber of Commerce and the Great Northern Boosters Club.
Also on this day
(From onthisday.com)
1066: William the Conqueror’s troops set sail from Normandy to conquer England.
1908: Henry Ford’s first Ford Model T automobile leaves the Piquette Plant in Detroit.
1954: “The Tonight Show” premieres on NBC, hosted by Steve Allen.
2018: U.S. Senate hearing into alleged sexual assault case by Judge Brett Kavanaugh with him and accuser Christine Blasey Ford giving evidence begins.