This day in history: A longtime resident of Spokane’s Chinatown neighborhood boarded train to move back to homeland

From 1975: World-class pianist Byron Janis was in Spokane to perform with the Spokane Symphony, but in a preconcert interview, the subject turned to ESP (extrasensory perception).

Janis said that he and his wife Maria Janis (daughter of actor Gary Cooper) “have a great interest in ESP, mental telepathy, psychokinesis and other forms of the so-called paranormal psychic powers.”

“Although parapsychology is gaining new respectability, I realize it has a serious credibility problem,” Janis said. “But I believe if you are not interested in something beyond what is known, you are stagnating. Fifty years ago, would you have believed that some day you would be seeing television in your home?”

Janis said he was a close friend of psychic Uri Geller.

From 1925: Bong Tai, “one of the respected citizens of Trent Alley,” Spokane’s Chinatown neighborhood, left Spokane for good.

“My life in your country had ended,” said Bong Tai. “I am going back to spend my last days in the land of my ancestors. All of my relatives are dead now, but I am going back and buy me a little farm and raise rice and keep two or three pigs.”

He said he had come to San Francisco when he was only 10 and came to Spokane “a few years after the big fire.” He said his life here had been happy, but at age 70 it was time to return.

He expected to see some changes. He had not seen Canton, China, for 60 years.

As his train pulled out of the station in Spokane, he called out: “Goodbye and good luck to Spokane.”