This day in history: Vandals hit Franklin Elementary School with 10 dozen eggs in a mess ‘almost beyond description’

Editor’s note: Because of issues accessing the archives, today’s 1925 entry is a bonus March 2 item.

From 1975: Unidentified vandals wreaked havoc at Franklin Elementary School during a nighttime spree. “Virtually every classroom” was damaged, the principal said. The kitchen and gymnasium received the worst of it.

“… Doors to refrigerators and freezers were opened and left open, and 10 dozen eggs were taken and tossed about the school gymnasium, creating a mess ‘almost beyond description.’ ”

The principal said he considered closing the school for the day, but finally decided to open “in a very limited fashion.”

Audiovisual equipment was smashed and shattered. The vandals even tried to get into the school’s safe. They did not succeed, but damaged it so severely that school officials couldn’t get it open, either.

From 1925: Harrington, Washington, residents had been gathering at night to witness “a peculiar and puzzling phenomenon” – a streak of light to the east, moving slowly from south to north.

They were baffled by it, until a traveling salesman enlightened them. He recognized that they were all watching the Old National Bank searchlight, high atop the bank building in Spokane. The searchlight operator confirmed this, saying he had a new 5,256-watt marine searchlight that could be seen for 50 miles – about the distance to Harrington.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1872: Yellowstone becomes the world’s first national park.